Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Bangor Savings Bank

Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the quarter. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $556,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $49.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.37. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.17%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

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.