Greenline Partners LLC Acquires 448 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Greenline Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,635 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Greenline Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 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 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,124,000 after buying an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $59.46 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.21. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company has a market capitalization of $100.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.