Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 387.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 350,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 278,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $445,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.10%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

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.