Whittier Trust Co. Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,216 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.08.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $53.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,684,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,348,264. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.29. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $53.53. The stock has a market cap of $91.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 85.36%.

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.