Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Holdings Raised by Perigon Wealth Management LLC

Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 87.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,771 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,615 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3,786.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company's stock worth $88,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698,585 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 19.9% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,916,000 after purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:MO traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.59. The stock had a trading volume of 16,525,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,842,010. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03.

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 negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.91%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.43.

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.