Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,618 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Altria Group by 8.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 483,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,087,000 after purchasing an additional 35,914 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its position in Altria Group by 18.4% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, William Allan Corp purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.97. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $55.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

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.