Grimes & Company Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 31.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,038 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,118 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 129,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,616,000 after acquiring an additional 26,920 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 9.8% during the second quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 22,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in Altria Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 161,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,486,000 after buying an additional 6,013 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 410.4% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.9% in the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 51,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $65.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.00.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

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.