Natixis Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Natixis reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 67.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 493,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,034,121 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $25,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its stake in Altria Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.13 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.39 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The company has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.68 and a 200-day moving average of $54.25.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 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.