Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Has $707,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,453 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares during the quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Keystone Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $2,528,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.6 %

MO opened at $57.33 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.96. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.