SteelPeak Wealth LLC Sells 23,352 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,559 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,352 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock worth $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after buying an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,051,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,786,000 after buying an additional 35,953 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,820,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,032,770. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $89.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.74%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.