Edgestream Partners L.P. Trims Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 84.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,111 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Altria Group by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,510,000 after purchasing an additional 243,201 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Altria Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,655,000 after purchasing an additional 215,594 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,772,000 after purchasing an additional 54,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

MO stock opened at $51.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.33 and a 200 day moving average of $46.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.00%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.