Capital International Inc. CA Acquires 40,298 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,812 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,298 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.43. The stock had a trading volume of 6,967,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,724,491. The company has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.67. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $50.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MO shares. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

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.