Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,488 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $223,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 194,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,864,000 after buying an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 38,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 27,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded up $0.64 on Friday, reaching $41.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,389,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,620,004. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The company has a market capitalization of $72.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.42.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.35%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

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

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.