Clark Estates Inc. NY Sells 8,090 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Clark Estates Inc. NY decreased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,090 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for about 0.7% of Clark Estates Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Clark Estates Inc. NY’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,206,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $56.35 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.72 and a fifty-two week high of $58.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.99. The company has a market capitalization of $95.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.24%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.