FineMark National Bank & Trust Buys 20,772 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 57.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,072 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,772 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 120.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,772,000 after purchasing an additional 54,096 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 2,111,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,221,000 after purchasing an additional 80,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,083,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,864,000 after purchasing an additional 327,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $54.27 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.99 and its 200 day moving average is $45.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.52%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

About Altria Group

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.