Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 773,980 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133,685 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $35,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 346.7% in the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, Director Robert Matthews Davis acquired 1,200 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.50 per share, for a total transaction of $48,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $343,156.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $40.40 to $39.20 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Altria Group from $46.50 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.53.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $40.82 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.72. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $51.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.01). Altria Group had a net margin of 35.58% and a negative return on equity of 237.91%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.84%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.