Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.

BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $234,678,000 after acquiring an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $57.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $58.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.