Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,560 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

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.