Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.8%, acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 63.29 million shares valued at about $3.8 billion.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $5.29 billion, showing a 0.2% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.5% and a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,483,487 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 3.76% of Altria Group worth $3,798,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MO traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,433,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.72 and a 200-day moving average of $57.78. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $64.35.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

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.