Independence Bank of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 53,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 757 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Allan Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 4,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MO opened at $59.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.83 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Company 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.