FNY Investment Advisers LLC Has $2.46 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

FNY Investment Advisers LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 74.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 47,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135,500 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. State Street Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3,786.6% during the 3rd 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. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $86.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped 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 stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Company 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.