Westpac Banking Corp Buys 11,479 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 90.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,171 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,479 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 36,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $69.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $116.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.82 and a 1 year high of $70.24.

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

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.33.

About Altria Group

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.