Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 48,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,523,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock worth $234,678,000 after purchasing an additional 93,121 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,310,000 after purchasing an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $57.62. 11,946,626 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,547,457. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.46. The company has a market cap of $97.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

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.