Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 31,612 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 645,888 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,612 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 58,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.49. The stock had a trading volume of 4,727,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,044,842. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.93. The stock has a market cap of $78.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.