Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 45.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,405 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,438 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.39 on Thursday, reaching $49.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,706,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,697,040. The company has a market cap of $85.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $50.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.