Whitener Capital Management Inc. Has $1.76 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,420 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,830 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Fairman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $53.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 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 the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.57%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. 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.