Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,179,463 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,521 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $210,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after buying an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

MO opened at $65.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.56 and a 200 day moving average of $61.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.37 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $109.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.