Mariner LLC Purchases 118,072 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 651,174 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 118,072 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $34,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Altria Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,701 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company's stock worth $173,481,000 after buying an additional 1,096,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.13. 8,765,015 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,964,269. The company has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.25. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $41.39 and a one year high of $60.18.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued 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 a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group 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.