Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $163.77 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 54,096 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $163,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 5,418 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 57,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 11,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.93. 536,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,093,225. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.19. The company has a market cap of $78.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.