Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 300 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $51.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.29 and its 200-day moving average is $51.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.