BNP Paribas Invests $27,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 39,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.2% during the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 24,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 31,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 50,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $46.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $79.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.94. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.