Sepio Capital LP Sells 4,660 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sepio Capital LP lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,660 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,678,000 after buying an additional 93,121 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,310,000 after buying an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 3.2 %

MO stock opened at $56.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.80. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The firm has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.