Man Group plc Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Man Group plc lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,398 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,315 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $59.85 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.58. The firm has a market cap of $100.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.83 and a one year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.82%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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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