5,308 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Courier Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 15,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 4,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 6,872 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Altria Group stock opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $86.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

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.