Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,630 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $126,471,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $1,715,000. Invst LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 252.0% in the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 11,589 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,676,000 after buying an additional 161,356 shares during the period. Finally, Members Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. 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. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $64.35 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.81 and a 200 day moving average of $61.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.58 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.