Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by StoneX Group Inc.

StoneX Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 126.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,968 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,089 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock worth $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Altria Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after acquiring an additional 54,102 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Altria Group by 48.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $57.93. 14,306,038 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,970,491. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.72. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.04%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 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.