Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,667,816 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 507,926 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.16% of Altria Group worth $139,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,164,681,000 after buying an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th 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. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded down $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.05. 16,322,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,941,049. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $60.18. The business's 50 day moving average price is $55.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.82.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.