Banque Transatlantique SA Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 7,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Altria Group stock opened at $59.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.44 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.