Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Altria Group by 1.7%, selling off 17,573 shares, making its total ownership approximately 1,021,671 shares valued at $61.3 million.
• Contrastingly, GQG Partners LLC significantly increased its stake by 8,146.4%, now owning nearly 18.7 million shares worth about $1.12 billion.
• Altria Group reported earnings of $1.44 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a slight revenue increase, with analysts predicting an EPS of 5.32 for the current year.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,021,671 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,573 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Altria Group worth $61,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 59,207 shares of the company's stock worth $3,096,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 35,912 shares of the company's stock worth $1,914,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 267,165 shares of the company's stock worth $13,970,000 after buying an additional 28,991 shares during the period. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.00. 7,369,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,718,455. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $66.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $60.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.34. The company has a market cap of $110.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

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.