Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Decreased by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,622 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

MO opened at $54.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.43%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.