Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Greenfield Savings Bank

Greenfield Savings Bank lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,550 shares during the quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 163.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after buying an additional 31,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Altria Group by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,141,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,550,000 after purchasing an additional 423,091 shares in the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 22,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Altria Group by 57.5% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 21,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 7,983 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $86.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

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.