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

First National Trust Co raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 138,911 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,988 shares during the quarter. 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after buying an additional 54,102 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.50 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The stock has a market cap of $98.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.27.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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