Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 653,371 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,436 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $34,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,124,000 after purchasing an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $60.51 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.03. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.58 and a 12-month high of $60.64. The stock has a market cap of $101.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.

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