Vertex Planning Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 3,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after acquiring an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Altria Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 54,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Altria Group by 48.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $58.32 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.57. The company has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group 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.