Truist Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Truist Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,094,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 668,539 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.23% of Altria Group worth $165,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company's stock worth $1,857,271,000 after purchasing an additional 840,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company's stock worth $698,432,000 after acquiring an additional 42,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company's stock worth $381,278,000 after purchasing an additional 722,258 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.37. The company had a trading volume of 13,793,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,018,917. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The company has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.18 and a 200-day moving average of $41.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.90.

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.

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