Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 3,021 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,030 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 120.6% during 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,655,000 after acquiring an additional 215,594 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $163,772,000 after purchasing an additional 54,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Altria Group stock 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 stock has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.