Wesbanco Bank Inc. Has $2.02 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 38,591 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 163.6% in 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. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 68.5% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 66,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 26,853 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 81,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,726,000 after purchasing an additional 7,323 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $367,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report 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 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.