Bellecapital International Ltd. Purchases 11,937 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 53.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,431 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,937 shares during the quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $49.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,307,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,917,628. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.32%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

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.