Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $224.32 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,394,886 shares of the company's stock after selling 665,703 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Altria Group worth $224,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Fairman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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 price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $54.44. 8,097,877 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,811,576. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $55.05. The business's 50-day moving average is $51.50 and its 200-day moving average is $48.97.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

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.