Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 658 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $54.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.61 and its 200-day moving average is $52.66. The company has a market cap of $92.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.51%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.