20,158 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Sharpepoint LLC

Sharpepoint LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,054,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its stake in Altria Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,208,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $58.66. 2,281,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,614,480. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.42. The firm has a market cap of $99.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.76 and a 1 year high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.96%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.