Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Purchases 574 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,059 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $50.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.70. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.