Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,225 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 17,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $795,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $65.20 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $109.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.88.

About Altria Group

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.