Thomasville National Bank Sells 2,240 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Thomasville National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,240 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 117,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 5,231 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 14,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.50 and a 200 day moving average of $51.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.