CX Institutional Has $6.56 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CX Institutional raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,488 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 163.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 31,568 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Altria Group by 68.5% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 66,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 26,853 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 9.8% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 81,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,726,000 after buying an additional 7,323 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $367,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,703 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $87.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised 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. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.