26,875 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Purchased by Corps Capital Advisors LLC

Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 26,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,000. Altria Group makes up 1.4% of Corps Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 25.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 457,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,353,000 after acquiring an additional 93,654 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 6,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 4,032 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 29,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $828,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $53.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid 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 yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.