Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Increased by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 106.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 196,851 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 101,669 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4,665.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,972,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,241,000 after purchasing an additional 3,888,907 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 54.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653,455 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $525,810,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,742,000 after purchasing an additional 919,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $45.56 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.74. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.60%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.