Altria Group, Inc. $MO Position Increased by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 115.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,697 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,071 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 12,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $209,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 39,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 23,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $64.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.62. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.58 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

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.