MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 443,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,282 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $22,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Altria Group by 3,786.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698,585 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 415.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,935,000 after acquiring an additional 793,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.65 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

About Altria Group

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.