Huntington National Bank Reduces Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Huntington National Bank decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,748 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,870 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank's holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Altria Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 54,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Altria Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Altria Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.93. 14,306,038 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,926,201. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.75. The firm has a market cap of $97.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current 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 paid 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 7.04%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.00.

About Altria Group

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.