Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 393,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,089 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,271,000 after buying an additional 840,559 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,856,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,596,257,000 after buying an additional 671,929 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,002,000 after buying an additional 1,192,266 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 108,222.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,763,000 after buying an additional 18,573,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,105,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,883,000 after buying an additional 1,531,337 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $41.26 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $48.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.42. The stock has a market cap of $70.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.