Pinebridge Investments L.P. Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 949,271 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,401 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.06% of Altria Group worth $49,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,124,000 after purchasing an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,155,000 after buying an additional 222,584 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $58.87 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $42.40 and a one year high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $99.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.39.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.