Mechanics Bank Trust Department Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 108,222.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,763,000 after purchasing an additional 18,573,146 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,066,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,000,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516,646 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,132,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926,492 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,105,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 64.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,771,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,062,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MO opened at $43.53 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.05. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $51.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 225.61% and a net margin of 27.40%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.01%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 102.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.