DGS Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 111.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,153 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,054 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $875,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 218,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,168,000 after acquiring an additional 21,128 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Altria Group by 48.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 5,593 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 37.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 530,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,091,000 after buying an additional 144,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.90. The stock had a trading volume of 697,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,552,831. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.74. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $93.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.