Capital World Investors Sells 10,379,100 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Capital World Investors trimmed its stake in Altria by 29.3%, selling 10,379,100 shares in Q3 and now owns 25,026,010 shares (a 1.49% stake) valued at about $1.65 billion.
• Altria announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share (ex-dividend/record date Mar 25; payable Apr 30), equivalent to $4.24 annually and a ~6.3% yield with a payout ratio of 103.16%.
• The stock trades near $66.93 with a market cap of $111.9 billion and a P/E of 16.29; analysts' consensus rating is Hold with a $65.11 target price.

Capital World Investors trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 29.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,026,010 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,379,100 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 1.49% of Altria Group worth $1,653,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $66.93 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 103.16%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.11.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc NYSE: MO is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company's operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria's principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.