Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $963,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Altria Group by 90.8% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 112,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after purchasing an additional 53,567 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $32,206,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 100,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,154,000 after buying an additional 34,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 113.2% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 81,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,140,000 after buying an additional 43,074 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $56.05 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $60.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.80. The company has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th 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 7.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.