Olympiad Research LP Sells 1,333 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Olympiad Research LP trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 21.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,333 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $126,471,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,715,000. Invst LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 252.0% in the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 11,589 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $5,388,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 79,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.5%

Altria Group stock opened at $57.76 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.82. The stock has a market cap of $96.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

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.