Commerce Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Commerce Bank trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 562,814 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,267 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Altria Group were worth $29,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock worth $617,124,000 after buying an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock worth $234,678,000 after acquiring an additional 93,121 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.02. 3,326,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,875,213. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.40 and a 12-month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

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.