Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $12.12 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,800 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,715 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.1 %

MO opened at $58.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $99.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.16.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

About Altria Group

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.