Diligent Investors LLC Has $533,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Diligent Investors LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.4% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 16,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 7,074 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 52.5% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 280.9% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. 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 report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:MO opened at $65.70 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.