Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 46.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 427,500 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA's holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,095,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 32,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 45,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,387,000 after acquiring an additional 5,325 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 595,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,136,000 after acquiring an additional 53,228 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

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Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.02 on Monday, reaching $57.62. The company had a trading volume of 11,946,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,547,446. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.42 and a 200-day moving average of $53.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid 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 7.08%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.