VCI Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,204,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,996,659. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The stock has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.00%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

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.