Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Verus Financial Partners Inc.

Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,667 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,958 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises 0.3% of Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 293.6% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.60. 2,661,894 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,723,614. The company has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.50.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.