Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 86.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,236,782 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 0.6% of Bridgewater Associates LP's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.16% of Altria Group worth $139,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.13. 8,765,015 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,964,269. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.39 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.25.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.