Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 106,481 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,224,977 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,481 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Altria Group worth $62,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 388,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 3,856 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 13.7% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 7,253 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 13.2% during the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 123,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,368,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $49.71 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.21%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Altria Group Company 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.