Heritage Trust Co Makes New $6.42 Million Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 122,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,418,000.

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

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Altria Group stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,604,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,998,434. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The company has a market capitalization of $97.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.06%. Altria Group's 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.