TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,351 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,166 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.36. The company has a market capitalization of $97.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.02 and a 52-week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.