TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Purchases 59,166 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 198,351 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,166 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.28. 5,677,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,816,680. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.76 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.08 and a 200 day moving average of $54.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Altria Group Company 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.