Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 24,556 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,941,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,556 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $101,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MO. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $52.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.70 and its 200 day moving average is $52.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.74%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.