Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Increased by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,664 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,321 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $543,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 83.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MO opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.53%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.