Olympiad Research LP Sells 1,333 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Olympiad Research LP reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 21.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,333 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.76 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

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.