Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 21,797 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,797 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1 %

MO opened at $56.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $56.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

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.