Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,701 shares during the period. 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 valued at $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,205 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.05 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $60.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.80. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.28%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.