390,068 Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments cut its Altria stake by 25.1% in the third quarter, selling 390,068 shares; it still held 1,166,351 shares, valued at about $78.7 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $71.67; five analysts rate the stock Buy, six Hold, and two Sell.
• Altria modestly beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while its quarterly dividend rose to $1.11 per share, equivalent to a 5.6% yield at the article’s cited share price.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 25.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,166,351 shares of the company's stock after selling 390,068 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Altria Group worth $78,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $2,911,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 26.9% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,164,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,800,000 after purchasing an additional 246,702 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 95,137 shares of the company's stock worth $6,278,000 after purchasing an additional 16,877 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 4,926,500 shares of the company's stock worth $325,100,000 after purchasing an additional 323,100 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 172,234 shares of the company's stock worth $11,534,000 after purchasing an additional 21,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Freedom Broker raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Altria Group from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.67. 4,983,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,631,722. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.19 and its 200-day moving average is $69.52. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $79.87. The company has a market capitalization of $130.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 330.66% and a net margin of 34.51%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $1.11 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 91.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This represents a 1.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based tobacco and nicotine company whose businesses focus primarily on the domestic market. Its products include cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, oral nicotine products and e-vapor products. Altria's portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, made by Philip Morris USA; Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco products, made by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company; and products from John Middleton and Helix Innovations. The company also owns NJOY, an e-vapor brand. The company was established as Philip Morris Companies Inc. and adopted the Altria name in 2003.

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