Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,476 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 79.0% in the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:MO opened at $64.21 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The stock has a market cap of $107.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.62.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.