Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes $394,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the third quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.75. 10,407,370 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,885,098. The stock has a market cap of $69.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $48.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.83 and its 200-day moving average is $41.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Profile

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