Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 1,134,748 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.47% of Altria Group worth $2,193,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Altria Group by 136.4% during 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, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company's stock worth $173,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.54. 6,866,612 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,920,514. The company has a market cap of $95.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.64 and a 200-day moving average of $53.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

About Altria Group

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.