Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 603,834 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,626 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $39,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,677,000 after buying an additional 44,303 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Altria Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after buying an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Altria Group by 155.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4%

Altria Group stock opened at $69.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.11 and a 200-day moving average of $62.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.82 and a 52-week high of $70.24.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.16%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Altria Group

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.