LPL Financial LLC Has $142.76 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,797,042 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 120,017 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $142,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Altria Group by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,935,000 after buying an additional 793,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Altria Group by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $56.74 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.65. The company has a market capitalization of $96.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $56.84.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.