First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Buys 138,286 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 169.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,994 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 138,286 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $13,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $99.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.02.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

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.

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