Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Invests $57 Million in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,090,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,996,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.06% of Altria Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.60 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.44 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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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