Martingale Asset Management L P Has $31.82 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608,574 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,910 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 0.8% of Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Altria Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,124,000 after acquiring an additional 983,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.30 on Friday, hitting $56.68. 9,758,131 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,020,411. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.06. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $60.18. The company has a market capitalization of $95.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.20%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.