Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires Shares of 4,825 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 4,825 shares of Altria Group, valued at approximately $290,000, during the first quarter, indicating institutional interest in the stock.
• Altria Group recently reported earnings of $1.44 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 0.2% to $5.29 billion.
• The company has a dividend yield of 6.6% with a recent quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, reflecting a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE MO traded up $0.53 on Tuesday, hitting $62.47. 5,844,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,937,225. The company has a market cap of $104.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $62.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.43 and a 200-day moving average of $57.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 78.92%.

About Altria Group

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.