Geode Capital Management LLC Has $2.08 Billion Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.41% of Altria Group worth $2,079,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 18.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 38,231 shares of the company's stock worth $1,741,000 after buying an additional 6,068 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Altria Group by 28.4% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,987 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $277,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 179.9% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 7,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 434.5% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 43,086 shares of the company's stock worth $1,984,000 after buying an additional 35,025 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE MO traded down $0.37 on Tuesday, hitting $55.49. The stock had a trading volume of 8,252,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,604,940. The company's 50-day moving average is $53.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $94.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm's revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.33.

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.