OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Sells 1,015 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,015 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective 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, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $52.81 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.29. The company has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

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.