Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 60.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 695,485 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 263,196 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $41,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $58.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.22 and a 200 day moving average of $56.28. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.27 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

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.

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