GWN Securities Inc. Sells 31,241 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

GWN Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 63.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,241 shares during the quarter. GWN Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. 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 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $63.71 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.73 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.81. The firm has a market cap of $107.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.