Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $51.91 Million Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 992,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,905,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of Altria Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock worth $466,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE MO traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.39. The company had a trading volume of 12,726,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,668,984. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.84. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $101.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company 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.