Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 144,725 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,677,000 after buying an additional 44,303 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Altria Group by 155.4% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 31,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 18,997 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 97,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after buying an additional 23,331 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $67.23 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.46 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $112.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.24.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.67.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.