Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares during the period. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 115.5% during the fourth quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 10,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $59.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $44.53 and a one year high of $61.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.14.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

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.