Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co Decreases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Wealthstar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $603,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc raised its position in Altria Group by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 30,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 107.7% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 11,820 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,574,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $52.65 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.