Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 160,630 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,990 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

MO opened at $57.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The company has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.