Amundi Increases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 710,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,217 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $36,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 2,347 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,331,000 after buying an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 49,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Altria Group by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 5,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $57.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.23.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.05%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.