Caprock Group LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 95,785 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,233 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 37,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 7,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, ETF Store Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. ETF Store Inc. now owns 7,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Altria Group stock opened at $56.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.63 and its 200 day moving average is $49.38. The company has a market capitalization of $95.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $56.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.24%. 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. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.