Czech National Bank Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 389,259 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,790 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Altria Group were worth $23,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during 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 buying an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $60.59. The company had a trading volume of 6,412,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,647,360. The company has a market capitalization of $102.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.34 and a 200 day moving average of $55.88. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.83 and a 12 month high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.