Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 824 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $143,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8 %

MO stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.26. The stock had a trading volume of 8,110,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,907,979. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.06%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.