Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,346,784 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 121,064 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $221,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kercheville Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 50,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4%

MO opened at $69.42 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.11 and its 200-day moving average is $62.55. The stock has a market cap of $116.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.82 and a twelve month high of $70.24.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, 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 Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.