Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,683,295 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Altria Group worth $142,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in 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. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in 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 in 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 worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock worth $234,678,000 after buying an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,310,000 after buying an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $59.75. 4,437,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,831,627. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.60. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. Altria Group's 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.