Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,197 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,114 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.92 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.95. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.