Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 132,846 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $842,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $63.12 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $105.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.73.

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

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Altria Group 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.