Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $25.55 Million Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 488,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,554,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after buying an additional 54,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Altria Group by 48.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.80. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

About Altria Group

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.