Todd Asset Management LLC Buys 91,469 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Todd Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 12.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 826,718 shares valued at $49.62 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., also raised their stakes in Altria Group, indicating a collective confidence among institutional investors with 57.41% of the stock owned by them.
• Analyst ratings for Altria Group are mixed, with a current consensus of “Hold” and a price target averaging around $59.13, following several recent price adjustments by various firms.

Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 826,718 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 91,469 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.2% of Todd Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Todd Asset Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $49,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Cypress Capital Group raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 70,126 shares of the company's stock worth $4,209,000 after acquiring an additional 4,910 shares during the last quarter. WP Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4,124.1% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 4,784 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 153.2% in the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 13,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,071,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $65.58. 10,747,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,162,725. The company has a market cap of $110.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $66.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.92%.

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.