Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 78,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,491 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its position in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:MO opened at $57.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.42 and a 200-day moving average of $53.47. The firm has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.67.

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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.