United Bank Makes New $234,000 Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

United Bank acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $1.96 on Monday, reaching $60.11. 17,328,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,881,192. The company's 50-day moving average price is $55.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.16.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

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.