Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 32,005 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,843 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,005 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company's stock worth $562,793,000 after buying an additional 191,236 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,510,000 after purchasing an additional 243,201 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,655,000 after purchasing an additional 215,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock worth $205,916,000 after purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.23. 7,231,002 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,799,878. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.05. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $55.40. The company has a market cap of $93.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.39%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.33.

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.