Altria Group, Inc. $MO Position Lessened by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,039 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.2% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 36,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 28,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.4% during the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 13.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $64.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.76 and its 200-day moving average is $61.76. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.58 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.