Huntington National Bank Sells 5,870 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Huntington National Bank trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,748 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,870 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $60.18. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.72.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

About Altria Group

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.