Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Makes New $11.44 Million Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 261,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.10.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,584,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,016,408. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.21. The company has a market capitalization of $80.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.35%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.