Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Purchases 7,968 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 45,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,968 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $314,000. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 85,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,622,000 after purchasing an additional 11,511 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 28.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 2,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $68.91 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.82 and a 52-week high of $69.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.41. The company has a market capitalization of $115.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.