Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 305.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,552 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 68,945 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Certuity LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.58.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $53.69 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $92.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.02.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

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.