Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 3,038 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 703,929 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,038 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $36,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $58.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.