Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 719,222 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,989,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 719,222 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.47% of Altria Group worth $397,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 3,830 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 52,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,955.7% during the 3rd quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 6,747 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 49,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,541,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.87. 10,986,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,304,533. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $91.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.17.

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.