Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 8,367 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,367 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Altria Group by 48.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in Altria Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 12,320 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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 set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target 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. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.29 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.74 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.50 and its 200-day moving average is $54.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.12%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.