Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Atlas Brown Inc.

Atlas Brown Inc. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 76,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 147,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,692,000 after purchasing an additional 15,411 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 169.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MO stock opened at $66.64 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.17. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $111.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59.

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. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Altria Group 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.