XTX Topco Ltd Invests $4.09 Million in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd purchased 68,192 shares of Altria Group, valued at approximately $4.1 million, marking a significant new position during the first quarter.
• Altria Group's latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with an EPS of $1.23, though revenue declined by 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, representing a yield of 6.95% and a payout ratio of 68.34%.

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 68,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,093,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3%

MO traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $61.77. The company had a trading volume of 9,687,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,292,139. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.34 and a 200-day moving average of $57.31. The company has a market capitalization of $104.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $62.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

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.