Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Position Increased by Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 170.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,112 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,948 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 1.1% of Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MO stock opened at $64.72 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.58 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $108.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.72.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

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.