Hikari Tsushin Inc. Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Hikari Tsushin Inc. lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 81.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 129,561 shares during the quarter. Hikari Tsushin Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Whalerock Point Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 9,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 232,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,377,000 after buying an additional 6,334 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 78,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 3,996 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 136,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,182,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 9,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $69.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.82 and a twelve month high of $70.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.