Bridgewater Associates LP Has $57.81 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 18.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,276,258 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 200,981 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.07% of Altria Group worth $57,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ellevest Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 346.7% in the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 670 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Matthews Davis bought 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.50 per share, with a total value of $48,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,473 shares in the company, valued at $343,156.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Altria Group from $46.50 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Altria Group from $40.40 to $39.20 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.53.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.34. 2,133,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,926,191. The company has a market cap of $73.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day moving average is $41.59 and its 200-day moving average is $43.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $51.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.01). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 237.91% and a net margin of 35.58%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.

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