Van ECK Associates Corp Has $397.86 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,989,215 shares of the company's stock after selling 719,222 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.47% of Altria Group worth $397,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 18.5% in the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its position in Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.87. The company had a trading volume of 10,986,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,304,533. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.49. The firm has a market cap of $91.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.57%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.17.

Altria Group Company 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.