Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,193,559 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,350 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.07% of Altria Group worth $48,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $43.37. 13,793,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,018,917. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.