Breton Hill Goes on a Buying Spree: See What Stocks It Bought in Q2

RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NASDAQ:RRD)

– Shares owned by Breton Hill Capital as of June 30: 499,187

– Value of Breton Hill Capital’s holding as of June 30: $8.45 Million

The Toronto-based asset manager boosted its position in RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NASDAQ:RRD) by 435,554 shares during the April-to-June period, ending the second quarter with 499,187 shares. The reshuffled position was worth $8.45 million at the end of the June quarter. Reportedly, Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX), which plans to separate its business process outsourcing business from the document technology and document outsourcing business by the end of the year, has been in talks to acquire communications technology specialist RR Donnelley & Sons. A possible deal may be announced before the completion of Xerox’s planned split into two separate companies, so various parts of the target’s business could be integrated into Xerox’s soon-to-be created companies. In early August 2015, RR Donnelley also announced a plan to create three independent public companies: a financial communications services company, a publishing and retail-centric print services company, and a multichannel communications management company. RRD shares have gained 27% since the start of 2016. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies owned 1.02 million shares of RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NASDAQ:RRD) on March 31.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO)

– Shares owned by Breton Hill Capital as of June 30: 124,400

– Value of Breton Hill Capital’s holding as of June 30: $8.58 Million

The investment firm co-founded and overseen by Ray Carroll increased its exposure to Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22% during the June quarter to 124,400 shares. The increased stake was valued at $8.58 million at the end of the second quarter and made up 2.8% of the firm’s portfolio. The cigarette maker has delivered years of dividend growth, on top of massive capital gains. Altria Group is among the top dividend payers in the stock market, with its current annualized dividend rate standing at $2.26 per share. This equates to an annual dividend yield of 3.28%. More importantly, Altria Group has seen the value of its stock jump by 18% since the start of 2016. With a dividend payout ratio target of roughly 80% of adjusted diluted EPS, Altria appears to have an easily sustainable dividend as well. Love them or hate them, the so-called “sin” stocks such as Altria Group’s stock make investors a great deal of money. Tom Russo’s Gardner Russo & Gardner was the owner of 5.95 million shares of Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO) at the end of March.