Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Leelyn Smith LLC

Leelyn Smith LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 51,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 752 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,206,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.87 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.35. The company has a market cap of $99.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.93%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.