CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $12.44 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CIBC Asset Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,697 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after buying an additional 242,442 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,772,000 after purchasing an additional 54,096 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,225,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,110,000 after acquiring an additional 64,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 2,111,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,221,000 after purchasing an additional 80,215 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.08.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $54.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.76. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.55%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

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.