Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,282 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,196 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 163.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 31,568 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 387.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 350,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,956,000 after acquiring an additional 278,500 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 25,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance raised its position in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 9,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 16.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 189,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,620,000 after purchasing an additional 26,597 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $51.92. The company had a trading volume of 6,528,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,772,463. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.