Cibc World Markets Corp Acquires 53,228 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 595,440 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,228 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,206,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $58.97 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.31. The firm has a market cap of $99.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Altria Group Company 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.