First County Bank CT Sells 265 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First County Bank CT lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 28,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,161 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 68,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 32,875 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,337,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 605,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,578,000 after purchasing an additional 113,451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $51.46 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.74.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

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.