Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,751 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:MO opened at $56.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.86. The company has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.08 and a twelve month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. 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.