Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Lessened by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,536 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $55.93 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $56.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.29. The company has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.