Washington Trust Bank Sells 588 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Washington Trust Bank cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,566 shares of the company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.46 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.47. The firm has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.