National Pension Service Buys 64,062 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,225,346 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,062 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Altria Group worth $130,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,857,271,000 after acquiring an additional 840,559 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,432,000 after purchasing an additional 42,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company's stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company's stock worth $381,278,000 after buying an additional 722,258 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,850,000 after buying an additional 1,038,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

MO traded up $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,872,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,827,415. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $46.67. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $42.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.50.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.85%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.

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