Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,713 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,402 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises 1.3% of Coston McIsaac & Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Coston McIsaac & Partners' holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after buying an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted 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 purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,051,644 shares of the company's stock worth $155,786,000 after purchasing an additional 35,953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MO traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $51.59. The company had a trading volume of 16,525,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,842,010. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.29. The company has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.91%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.