Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 208,129 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,816,438 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 208,129 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.25% of Altria Group worth $8,199,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Altria Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,084,000 after buying an additional 54,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company's stock worth $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.73. 10,377,149 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,497,390. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The business's fifty day moving average is $54.56 and its 200 day moving average is $53.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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 upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.