Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 56,905.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 192,679 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192,341 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

MO stock opened at $56.34 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $56.55. The company has a market cap of $95.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.38.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.24%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.