Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 1,848 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,834 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $346,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 23,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absolute Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $57.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group 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.