Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,091 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 788 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Altria Group by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $55.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.13. The company has a market cap of $94.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $56.32.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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. The company 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%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued 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 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.