Sachetta LLC Sells 638 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sachetta LLC cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 47.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 708 shares of the company’s stock after selling 638 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $31,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.9%

Altria Group stock opened at $66.64 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.04. The stock has a market cap of $111.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

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.