Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 1,700,080 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 97.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,363 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,700,080 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MO opened at $50.82 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 68.92%.

About Altria Group

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.