IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,791 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,327 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $19,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 115.5% in the 4th quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $59.62 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.76 and a one year high of $61.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.39. The firm has a market cap of $100.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company 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.