Leelyn Smith LLC Acquires 972 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Leelyn Smith LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 52,111 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 972 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.74 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $56.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.