Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Aua Capital Management LLC

Aua Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,960 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for 1.6% of Aua Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Aua Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,051,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,786,000 after acquiring an additional 35,953 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:MO opened at $52.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.39. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $89.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued 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 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.