Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 8,745 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,548 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,745 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company's stock worth $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company's stock worth $100,511,000 after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded down $0.35 on Wednesday, reaching $55.95. The company had a trading volume of 7,409,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,879,282. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.95 and a 200-day moving average of $53.01. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $58.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. 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. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group 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.