1834 Investment Advisors Co. Decreases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

1834 Investment Advisors Co. reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 134,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,436 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises about 1.0% of 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 17,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Altria Group by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 263,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,759,000 after buying an additional 36,167 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 93,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,627,000 after buying an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 14,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $65.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.65.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.