265,738 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Purchased by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 265,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,895,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. abrdn plc raised its position in Altria Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 221,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,279,000 after purchasing an additional 7,366 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 153,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,816,000 after buying an additional 4,004 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 70,295 shares of the company's stock worth $3,588,000 after buying an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 11,421 shares of the company's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $55.95. The stock had a trading volume of 7,409,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,879,050. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.99. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $58.59. The stock has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

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%. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MO. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.