Bank of New Hampshire Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bank of New Hampshire lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.54. 14,207,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,987,708. The stock has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $48.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.