Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 814,665 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $797,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 17,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.4% in the second quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 4,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 55.5% during the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 230,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,698,000 after buying an additional 82,168 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1%

MO opened at $66.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.77 and a 200-day moving average of $62.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.46 and a 12-month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.67.

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.