Fourpath Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 16,328 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Fourpath Capital Management acquired a new stake of 16,328 Altria shares in Q4, valued at roughly $941,000.
• Altria announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 (annualized $4.24) with an ex‑dividend/record date of March 25, implying a 6.3% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 103.16%.
• SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares on March 5 at an average price of $67.57 for about $1.89 million, trimming his holdings by 13.37%.

Fourpath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Gould Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 79.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 634.5% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 639 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $67.32 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $70.51. The firm has a market cap of $112.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.58.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.88.

Altria Group Company 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.

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