Convergence Investment Partners LLC Boosts Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,244 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,985 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 1.1% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3,786.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $52.70 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $89.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.