Comerica Bank Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 559,925 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,854 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $29,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

MO stock opened at $59.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.72. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.37 and a twelve month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.57.

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.