Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 10,931 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,931 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MO traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.62. 4,776,064 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,574,313. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.76 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.36.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.71.

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.