Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,968,481 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,845 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Altria Group worth $118,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.9% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 23,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Novem Group boosted its stake in Altria Group by 11.8% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,594 shares of the company's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,776,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,574,313. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.28 and its 200 day moving average is $56.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.76 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.71.

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.