Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Reduced by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,003,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 452,993 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.49% of Altria Group worth $1,765,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 298.2% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Altria Group by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 306,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,896,000 after acquiring an additional 28,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.37. 4,554,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,764,573. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $46.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.50. The stock has a market cap of $76.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.83%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.