Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $105.33 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,014,376 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,822 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Altria Group worth $105,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.93. The stock had a trading volume of 14,306,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,926,201. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.72. The firm has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18.

Remove Ads

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group 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.