Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 7,355 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,355 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $42.57 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.21%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.