6,323 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Argentarii LLC

Argentarii LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Altria Group by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Altria Group by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 111,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,680,000 after acquiring an additional 17,887 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Ted Buchan & Co increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 12,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $57.79 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.11. The company has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $58.59.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.