Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,739,344 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 247,146 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Altria Group worth $104,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 17,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 41,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.04. 5,686,380 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,685,507. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.57 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average is $59.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.84.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

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.