Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Decreases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,008 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $57.83 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.23.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.05%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.