CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 4,690 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 488,977 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,690 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in Altria Group were worth $25,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,873,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,627,558. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.86 and a 200-day moving average of $54.39. The stock has a market cap of $98.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $42.40 and a one year high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Company 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.