Diversified Trust Co Acquires 39,465 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 318.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,856 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 39,465 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during 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 period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.46 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.66 and a 200 day moving average of $51.74. The firm has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

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.