Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,793,000 after purchasing an additional 191,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 25.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.14 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.38 and a 200-day moving average of $51.91. The company has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.