Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) by 413.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,158 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,619,000. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,062,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 201,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,534,000 after buying an additional 53,293 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. 59.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:MO traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.07. The stock had a trading volume of 61,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,396,150. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.01. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.00 and a 52 week high of $57.05.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 15th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 14th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 371.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Altria Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 10th. Barclays lowered shares of Altria Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 8th. Finally, Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Altria Group Profile

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Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; and moist smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands, as well as provides on! oral nicotine pouches.

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