Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Acquires 44,907 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 432,289 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,907 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $22,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE MO opened at $51.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.91%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.