Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 507,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,593 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $29,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV now owns 29,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in Altria Group by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 78,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 16,107 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $712,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 308,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,801,000 after purchasing an additional 25,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 44,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $74.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.20. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.33.

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.