10,736 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Bought by Apexium Financial LP

Apexium Financial LP acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the company's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,941 shares of the company's stock worth $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 5,883 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 63,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,321,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Altria Group by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 44,787 shares of the company's stock worth $2,342,000 after acquiring an additional 5,720 shares during the period. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 8,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.54. 10,639,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,290,179. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average is $52.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 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 7.77%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on 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 assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.43.

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.