Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 60.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 749 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exeter Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 21,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 60,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $278,000. Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 15,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.