Clarius Group LLC Buys 327 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Clarius Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,982 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 7,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 86,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 43,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,263,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

MO stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.95. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.