Comerica Bank Has $24.25 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Comerica Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 555,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,267 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $24,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 54,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 13,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Cobblestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Cobblestone Asset Management LLC now owns 9,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.85. 4,930,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,698,242. The company has a market cap of $85.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.86. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $50.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

About Altria Group

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.