JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $446.87 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,545,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 958,496 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.50% of Altria Group worth $446,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Altria Group stock opened at $58.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $55.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.