111 Capital Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

111 Capital lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 80.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,937 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,432 shares during the period. 111 Capital’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,229,000 after acquiring an additional 764,221 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,122,000 after acquiring an additional 132,846 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:MO opened at $68.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $115.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.82 and a twelve month high of $70.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.52.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.