Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 132,846 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132,846 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.76% of Altria Group worth $842,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after purchasing an additional 764,221 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,851,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,958,000 after purchasing an additional 374,425 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $63.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.97 and a 200-day moving average of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.