Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.49 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,009 shares of the company’s stock after buying 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 institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

MO traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.65. 1,540,306 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,862,167. 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 yield of 8.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

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.