Verus Capital Partners LLC Purchases 2,249 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,927 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MO opened at $55.06 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.73 and its 200 day moving average is $52.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.41%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.