Assetmark Inc. Acquires 78,002 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,154,251 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,002 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Altria Group worth $109,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 18,595 shares of the company's stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 13.6% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $11,660,000. Beckerman Institutional LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $247,000. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,122 shares of the company's stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on 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 upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.51 on Friday, reaching $54.05. 5,712,292 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,669,546. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $55.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

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.