Report: Vermont Trust Company Increases Stake in Altria Group

According to a report from DAILY POLITICAL on August 6th, Vermont Trust company disclosed in its latest report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it increased its holdings of Altria Group (Altria Group, Inc., NYSE: MO) by 0.8% in the second quarter.

During the period, the company purchased an additional 320 shares, bringing their total holdings of the company's stock to 42,091 shares. As of the end of the most recent quarter, the Vermont Trust Company's stake in Altria Group was valued at $1,917,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their holdings in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Now, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. owns 575 shares of the company, worth $25,000, after acquiring an additional 349 shares.

Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased new shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000.

In the first quarter, BNP Paribas of France acquired shares of Altria Group worth around $27,000, while Westend Capital Management LLC purchased shares of Altria Group valued at approximately $29,000.

Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased new shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter, worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's shares.

Wall Street analysts' views on Altria Group stock.

Multiple research companies recently shared their views on Altria Group. Stifel Nicolaus, in a report on Thursday, August 1, raised Altria Group's target price from $50.00 to $54.00 and assigned a "buy" rating to the company. UBS Group, in a report on Monday, April 8, raised Altria Group's target price from $36.10 to $36.50 and assigned a "sell" rating to the company.

In its report on Wednesday, July 10th, Bank of America raised Altria Group's target price from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating. Argus upgraded Altria Group's rating to "hold" in its report on Friday, May 31st.

Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group's rating from "hold" to "buy" in a report issued on Friday, June 28th. One analyst gave the stock a sell rating, three analysts gave it a hold rating, and three analysts issued buy ratings. According to MarketBeat.com data, the current consensus rating for the stock is "hold" with a consensus target price of $47.90.