Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $850,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $58.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.59. 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.