Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 369,720 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,559 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $19,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 531,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,128,000 after acquiring an additional 24,039 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 67,010 shares of the company's stock worth $3,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 12,504 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MO
Altria Group Price Performance
Shares of MO stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.70. The company had a trading volume of 8,264,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,306,937. The company has a market capitalization of $89.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $52.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Altria Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.74%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.
About Altria Group
(
Free Report)
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.
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