Cerity Partners LLC Trims Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 413,262 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,850 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $21,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $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 2.8% in the 4th 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after buying an additional 76,004 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,678,000 after buying an additional 93,121 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,758,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,020,411. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $60.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.06.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given 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 yield of 7.20%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.