Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 48,489 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 496,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,489 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 0.8% of Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $32,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,264,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,815,000 after buying an additional 1,249,525 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,094.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,919,000 after buying an additional 1,061,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $67.63 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51. The company has a market capitalization of $113.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.63.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group 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.