DAVENPORT & Co LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 106,586 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 73.5% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 16,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 7,074 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $392,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.36 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.32 and its 200 day moving average is $61.00. The company has a market cap of $109.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 presently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a 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 given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Company 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.