Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 4,275 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,105 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,275 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. lifted its position in Altria Group by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,056,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Altria Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.28. 5,677,934 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,772,175. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.37 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $57.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.