Corps Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Corps Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 26,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,405,000. Altria Group makes up 1.4% of Corps Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 91,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 31,146 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 181,325 shares of the company's stock worth $9,481,000 after buying an additional 5,958 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 95,244 shares of the company's stock worth $4,980,000 after buying an additional 17,985 shares during the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 23,436 shares of the company's stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.99. 5,895,112 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,221,739. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.66. The firm has a market cap of $93.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 2.84 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.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) 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, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Bank of America raised shares of 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 research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.