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

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 156,816,438 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 208,129 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.25% of Altria Group worth $8,199,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $2,183,000. Nwam LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 16.8% in the third quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 151,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,747,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 14.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 422,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,553,000 after buying an additional 53,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.1% in the third quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 15,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $57.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.42 and a 200 day moving average of $53.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.