Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,515,327 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,355 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.09% of Altria Group worth $68,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 39,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 510,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,128,000 after acquiring an additional 21,222 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its position in Altria Group by 17.7% during the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 1,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, Director Robert Matthews Davis acquired 1,200 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.50 per share, for a total transaction of $48,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,473 shares in the company, valued at $343,156.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

MO stock opened at $40.02 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.97. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $51.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.01). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 237.91% and a net margin of 35.58%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.80%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 79.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $40.40 to $39.20 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 6th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Altria Group from $46.50 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.53.

About Altria Group

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; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.