Windle Wealth LLC Buys 1,059 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Windle Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 146,239 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for about 4.2% of Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,678,000 after buying an additional 93,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,310,000 after buying an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.20. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $59.67. The company has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Company 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.