Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 35,049 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.3%, acquiring 35,049 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 846,797 shares valued at approximately $50.83 million.
• Altria Group's stock has been rated as a "hold" by a consensus of analysts, with a current average target price of $56.75, while recent upgrades and downgrades from brokerages have varied.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.82%, with a payout ratio of 68.34%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 846,797 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,049 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Altria Group worth $50,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 37.8% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company's stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.58 on Thursday, hitting $62.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,243,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,243,178. The stock's 50 day moving average is $59.29 and its 200-day moving average is $57.24. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $62.32. The company has a market capitalization of $104.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.13.

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.