Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Cut by BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC

BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 27.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,012,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 386,766 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $45,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in Altria Group by 100,097.6% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,100,359,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,846,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,261,791 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 108,222.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,763,000 after purchasing an additional 18,573,146 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 240.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,425,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126,027 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $130,228,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Altria Group by 84.1% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,426,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,823,000 after buying an additional 2,478,576 shares during the last quarter. 58.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $40.22 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.85. The firm has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $51.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.01). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 237.91% and a net margin of 35.58%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Robert Matthews Davis purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.50 per share, for a total transaction of $48,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $343,156.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.50 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $40.40 to $39.20 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.53.

About Altria Group

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.