Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,508,314 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 3.39% of Altria Group worth $2,935,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,511,000 after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company's stock worth $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company's stock worth $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Altria Group by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company's stock worth $42,935,000 after buying an additional 793,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock worth $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,580,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,724,238. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.79 and a 200-day moving average of $49.56. The stock has a market cap of $95.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $56.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.