Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 193,878 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,945 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for 1.0% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its position in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Altria Group stock traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,247,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,772,687. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.05. The company has a market cap of $93.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11.

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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.41%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Altria Group Company 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.