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

Distillate Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 532,943 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,812 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up about 1.4% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Distillate Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $27,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday, January 31st. 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

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Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $57.61. 4,361,365 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,989,086. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $56.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.13. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $60.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.