Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,009 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.9% during the third quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,540,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,862,167. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group 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.