Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Bought by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 760,416 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,616 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $51,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cortland Associates Inc. MO lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 11,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Griffith & Werner Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. now owns 5,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $78.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $130.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.52. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $79.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.51% and a negative return on equity of 330.66%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. The trade was a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Freedom Broker raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.67.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based tobacco and nicotine company whose businesses focus primarily on the domestic market. Its products include cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, oral nicotine products and e-vapor products. Altria’s portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, made by Philip Morris USA; Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco products, made by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company; and products from John Middleton and Helix Innovations. The company also owns NJOY, an e-vapor brand. The company was established as Philip Morris Companies Inc. and adopted the Altria name in 2003.