Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,405 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,678,000 after purchasing an additional 93,121 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,310,000 after purchasing an additional 197,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.51. The company has a market cap of $95.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly 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, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.19%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.