Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,506 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:MO opened at $51.70 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.57. The stock has a market cap of $88.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.89%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

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.