Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Zhang Financial LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Zhang Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 176 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,122,290,000 after purchasing an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,798,592,000 after buying an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,913,000 after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 111.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,606,000 after buying an additional 2,928,006 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $63.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $106.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.88 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Altria Group

About Altria Group

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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