V2 Financial group LLC Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

V2 Financial group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. V2 Financial group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $603,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Altria Group by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 30,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 107.7% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 11,820 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,574,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $52.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

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, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.