Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 608 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 14.1% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Altria Group by 8.2% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 845,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,177,000 after purchasing an additional 64,313 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 643,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,860,000 after purchasing an additional 252,292 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,916,000 after purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 28,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,933 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,691,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,871,669. The company has a market capitalization of $92.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.49. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.56%. 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. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.17.

About Altria Group

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.