Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 62.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 282,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded down $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.45. 1,096,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,638,625. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The business's 50 day moving average price is $58.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.77. The company has a market capitalization of $100.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.