Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,941,636 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,556 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Altria Group worth $101,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.01. 8,815,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,319,094. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 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 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, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.