Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 52.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,970 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,573 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price 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, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $1.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $55.86. The company had a trading volume of 8,618,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,610,635. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.