Arrow Financial Corp Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Arrow Financial Corp reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Arrow Financial Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 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. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $59.30 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.37 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $100.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Citigroup raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.