Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 5,883 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,941 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,883 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.54. The stock had a trading volume of 10,639,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,290,179. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.26. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.