Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 4,022 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,697 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 252.0% during the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 11,589 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% during the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,676,000 after purchasing an additional 161,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MO stock opened at $66.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $68.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.72 and its 200 day moving average is $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

About Altria Group

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.