Korea Investment CORP Sells 328,427 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Korea Investment CORP reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 924,342 shares of the company’s stock after selling 328,427 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $61,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,677,000 after purchasing an additional 44,303 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Altria Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after purchasing an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Altria Group by 155.4% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 31,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 18,997 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.48 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.25 and a 200 day moving average of $62.58. The company has a market capitalization of $111.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

Altria Group 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.