United Bank Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

United Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 4,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The company has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.