Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Jump Financial LLC

Jump Financial LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,782 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Altria Group by 86.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock worth $139,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,782 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.28. 5,677,934 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,772,175. The stock has a market cap of $98.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.37 and a 1 year high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.00%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

About Altria Group

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.