Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Position Lifted by Promethium Advisors LLC

Promethium Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,555 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,096 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises approximately 2.4% of Promethium Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Promethium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 27,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 16,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,041,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MO stock opened at $67.21 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $112.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.92%.

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.