Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,713 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. State Street Corp raised 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 worth $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the third 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. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Altria Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $52.65 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to 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.