Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 40,574 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after buying an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 729.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $483,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $56.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $96.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 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 $56.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

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.