Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Acquires 300 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,035.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 71.0% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.74 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.80 and a 200 day moving average of $53.54. The company has a market cap of $97.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.