Simmons Bank Has $2.16 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Simmons Bank decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% in 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. Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $55.23 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $55.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.05.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.39%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.