QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $42.71 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 711,521 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,438 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $42,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $100.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.75 and a 200 day moving average of $56.09. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.92 and a 52 week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

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.