Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,630 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,990 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

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Altria Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MO traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.47. The company had a trading volume of 3,923,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,542,338. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.