Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 56,416 shares, bringing their total holding to approximately 1.5 million shares valued at $89.9 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.44, surpassing expectations by $0.07, with revenues of $5.29 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 6.6%, as part of its investor returns strategy.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,497,572 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,416 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.09% of Altria Group worth $89,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock worth $139,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,782 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.55. 4,907,117 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,201,505. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $59.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.62. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $63.76. The company has a market cap of $106.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

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.