GWN Securities Inc. Sells 31,241 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

GWN Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 63.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,241 shares during the quarter. GWN Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 1st. 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $63.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.81. The firm has a market cap of $107.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.73 and a 1 year high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. 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.