Meritage Portfolio Management Has $567,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $52.58 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.39 and a 200-day moving average of $52.42. The company has a market capitalization of $89.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.