Maia Wealth LLC Purchases New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 5.6% during the third 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company's stock worth $221,310,000 after purchasing an additional 197,945 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,414,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,563,000 after purchasing an additional 39,341 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.95. 7,409,587 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,879,282. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $58.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.90 and a 200-day moving average of $52.99. The stock has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.29%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

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.