CIBC Asset Management Inc Buys 19,291 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 292,474 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.93. The company had a trading volume of 8,201,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,779,230. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $56.32. The firm has a market cap of $94.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.22.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

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.