CENTRAL TRUST Co Has $6.71 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,105 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7%

MO stock opened at $58.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $99.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.92 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.81 and a 200-day moving average of $56.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.