Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO reduced its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.55. 12,238,540 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,876,758. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.19 and a 200 day moving average of $42.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.