Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 395,085 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,718 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.1% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $1.05 on Friday, reaching $51.07. 12,662,503 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,285,990. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.97. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $51.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.68%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.90.

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.