Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 488,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,554,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Altria Group by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company's stock worth $105,737,000 after buying an additional 1,166,701 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after buying an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,481,000 after buying an additional 1,096,205 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded down $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.05. 16,322,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,941,049. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.82. The stock has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.