Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,863 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,063 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 395,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,289,000 after acquiring an additional 28,718 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 30.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 78.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 20,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,106 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 85,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 21,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $57.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.13.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

Altria Group 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.