Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,320,377 shares of the company's stock after selling 184,150 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.25% of Altria Group worth $225,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock worth $139,894,000 after buying an additional 1,236,782 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Altria Group by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company's stock worth $105,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MO traded down $0.43 on Friday, reaching $58.28. 5,677,934 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,792,264. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.19 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The firm has a market cap of $98.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.