Hancock Whitney Corp Increases Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,830 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP raised its position in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $56.75 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $57.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.81.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

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.