Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,371 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 772 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up 0.9% of 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 worth $535,701,000 after acquiring an additional 242,442 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,793,000 after buying an additional 191,236 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.04 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.20. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $87.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.