Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 903.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 435,182 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 391,819 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 11,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $1.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $58.77. The company had a trading volume of 10,533,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,644,652. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.92 and a 12 month high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.