Sanders Morris Harris LLC Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sanders Morris Harris LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,951 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group dropped 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, October 31st. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $59.41 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $50.08 and a one year high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.76.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The business’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, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.