Thomasville National Bank Purchases 720 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Thomasville National Bank grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,568 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,432,000 after acquiring an additional 42,490 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after purchasing an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,762,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,281,000 after acquiring an additional 337,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $45.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.61 and a 200-day moving average of $42.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.