International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 97,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,271,000 after purchasing an additional 840,559 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,432,000 after buying an additional 42,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after buying an additional 722,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 19.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,408 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MO opened at $44.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.69 and its 200 day moving average is $41.52. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.77%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group 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.