Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 72,197 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,431,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,197 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for about 1.2% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.36% of Altria Group worth $291,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,066,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,000,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,856,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,596,257,000 after purchasing an additional 671,929 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,132,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,431,000 after buying an additional 1,926,492 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 108,222.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,763,000 after acquiring an additional 18,573,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.50.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.18. 1,841,890 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,801,266. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.04. The company has a market cap of $76.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.35 and a 52-week high of $51.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.31. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.08%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 102.89%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.