SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Has $53,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $53,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,793,000 after purchasing an additional 191,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Altria Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $52.02 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.84%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company 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 assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.