Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,731,932 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

by · The Markets Daily

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Altria Group worth $100,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $483,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America cut their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on Altria Group

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,712,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,669,546. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.50 and a 200 day moving average of $48.85. The stock has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $55.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.55%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Altria Group Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report).