London Co. of Virginia Has $221.80 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

London Co. of Virginia decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,241,747 shares of the company's stock after selling 313,869 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned approximately 0.25% of Altria Group worth $221,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.50. 9,066,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,765,563. The stock has a market cap of $95.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.35.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.22%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.