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

Next Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 773 shares during the quarter. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,678,000 after buying an additional 93,121 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.31 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.00%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.