Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Mizuho Bank Ltd.

Mizuho Bank Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $56.05 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.