Verity & Verity LLC Has $15.73 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 300,722 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,154 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Verity & Verity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

MO stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.