Meyer Handelman Co. Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Meyer Handelman Co. cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 92,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $736,000. Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $911,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 581.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Taylor Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $294,000. Finally, Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $286,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

MO opened at $49.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.60 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.17.

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.