Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 257,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,000 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $13,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cortland Associates Inc. MO grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 17,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Altria Group by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 16,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Altria Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 387,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,772,000 after acquiring an additional 25,206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MO opened at $53.98 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.56%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

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.