Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 328,727 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Altria Group by 12.3%, purchasing an additional 328,727 shares and now owns approximately 3,012,022 shares worth $180.78 million.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 0.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $5.29 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, representing a 6.4% yield and a payout ratio of approximately 78.92%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,012,022 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 328,727 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Altria Group worth $180,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accuvest Global Advisors bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $367,000. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Keb Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC now owns 4,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.4% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,084,175 shares of the company's stock worth $245,132,000 after buying an additional 282,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock worth $3,798,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $63.55 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $63.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.70. The firm has a market cap of $106.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

About Altria Group

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.