Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,320,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184,150 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $225,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its position in Altria Group by 7.8% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 35.9% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $58.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $99.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.39. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.40 and a 52 week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid 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 yield of 6.93%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.