Vertex Planning Partners LLC Takes $201,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,035.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Altria Group by 71.0% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 6,907 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 74,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,807,000 after buying an additional 12,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Altria Group by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 635,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,450,000 after buying an additional 45,407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.