Fulton Bank N.A. Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Fulton Bank N.A. lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,938 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 28,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,490 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MO opened at $60.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

About Altria Group

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.