Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,383 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,033 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock worth $234,678,000 after buying an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,310,000 after buying an additional 197,945 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Altria Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of MO stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $59.52. 5,016,949 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,833,652. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.87. The stock's 50 day moving average is $55.07 and its 200-day moving average is $53.60. The company has a market cap of $100.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.86%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

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.