Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 13.9%, owning 42,494 shares worth approximately $2.55 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Altria Group reported $1.23 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates of $1.19, but its revenue decreased by 4.2% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, with an annualized payout of $4.08 and a dividend yield of 6.95%.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,494 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

MO stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,408,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,260,929. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $62.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.31.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.