ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 289,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,139,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,000 after buying an additional 1,948 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Altria Group by 95.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 36,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 17,846 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $324,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

MO stock opened at $57.93 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $55.64 and its 200 day moving average is $53.75. The stock has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.