Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 823,063 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,260 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $54,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 62.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after buying an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after buying an additional 814,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $69.42 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.33.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.