Sage Capital Advisors llc Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sage Capital Advisors llc reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102,881 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $66.64 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.09.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.