Korea Investment CORP Has $42.17 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 806,429 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,581 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Altria Group were worth $42,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock worth $234,678,000 after acquiring an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position 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 worth $221,310,000 after purchasing an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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 upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $1.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $59.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,437,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,831,627. The firm's fifty day moving average is $55.07 and its 200 day moving average is $53.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.83%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

About Altria Group

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.