Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,596 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,699 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $51.46 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Altria Group Company 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.