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

Verus Financial Partners Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for about 0.4% of Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $257,000. William Allan Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 8.1% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 16.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,395,000 after acquiring an additional 247,146 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 11,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.04 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.87. The stock has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.03%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

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.