Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires 6,907 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 71.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,641 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,907 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Altria Group by 1,035.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 11.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 218,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,131,000 after acquiring an additional 22,815 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 107,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.65 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.25 and its 200 day moving average is $49.96. The company has a market cap of $97.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Company 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.