Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $30.08 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 55.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 455,332 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 162,181 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $30,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,575,000 after buying an additional 3,172,753 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,122,000 after buying an additional 132,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,412,000 after buying an additional 47,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MO opened at $67.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.During the same period last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.11.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.