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

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,545,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 958,496 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $446,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.