3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Acquires 6,361 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,140 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,361 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.1% of 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,682,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,810,000 after buying an additional 209,467 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $588,000. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 384,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,107,000 after buying an additional 42,967 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,468,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,548,659. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.73 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group 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.