Meridian Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,070 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,414,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,563,000 after acquiring an additional 39,341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $56.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $95.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.72 and a 52 week high of $58.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.99.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given 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 7.24%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.