Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,308,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE MO traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,924,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,750,414. The company has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $58.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during 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%. Altria Group's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

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.