Venturi Wealth Management LLC Has $330,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.8 %

MO stock opened at $54.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $92.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.51%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.