Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $324,000. Private Portfolio Partners LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 21,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,190,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,544,000 after buying an additional 49,922 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $57.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.