Montecito Bank & Trust Sells 477 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Montecito Bank & Trust decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 89,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,430,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $434,000. M&G PLC increased its position in Altria Group by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 91,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,680,000 after acquiring an additional 6,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.49 and its 200-day moving average is $48.70. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $55.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.62%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.33.

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.