SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases 6,820 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,558 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,820 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $16,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 47,433 shares of the company's stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in Altria Group by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 13,600 shares of the company's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 947,121 shares of the company's stock worth $49,525,000 after purchasing an additional 152,945 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $57.82. 6,362,063 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,660,015. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.57 and a 12 month high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.73.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.06%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

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.