Capital World Investors Sells 10,379,100 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Capital World Investors cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 29.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,026,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,379,100 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,653,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,229,000 after buying an additional 764,221 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,122,000 after acquiring an additional 132,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $66.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.44 and a 200 day moving average of $62.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.11.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.