Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,982,923 shares of the company's stock after selling 85,846 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.24% of Altria Group worth $208,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,737,000 after buying an additional 1,166,701 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,193,687,000 after buying an additional 1,134,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company's stock worth $173,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE MO traded down $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.05. 16,322,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,941,049. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.72 and a 200 day moving average of $53.82. The company has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.