Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,015 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

MO stock opened at $52.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.73%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

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.