Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 107,385 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $95.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.