38,509 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Bought by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 38,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,754,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 120.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Altria Group by 131.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,418,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,211,000 after purchasing an additional 805,051 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Altria Group by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,935,000 after buying an additional 793,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,613,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.39 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.77. The firm has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.