Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $26.06 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 645,888 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,612 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’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 owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.49. 4,727,695 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,044,842. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.93. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $46.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Company 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.