LRI Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,226 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities research 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, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $66.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.22. The company has a market capitalization of $111.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm 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%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.