FIL Ltd Sells 27,000 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

FIL Ltd decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 788,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,000 shares during the period. FIL Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $41,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,701 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,134,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,481,000 after buying an additional 1,096,205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,939,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,996,111. The company has a market capitalization of $97.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.07%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

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.