Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Grows Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,385 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67. The stock has a market cap of $95.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Altria Group Company 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.