Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,911 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,988 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Altria Group by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $267,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co lifted its position in Altria Group by 15.1% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 58,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 7,677 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 6.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 209,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,694,000 after acquiring an additional 12,496 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.50 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $98.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.27.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.