Altria Group, Inc. $MO Holdings Lowered by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

Key Points

• DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale has reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 1.6%, now holding 388,836 shares valued at approximately $22.8 million.
• Altria Group recently reported $1.44 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations and generating $5.29 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $1.02, and reflecting a yield of 6.6%.

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,836 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,249 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Altria Group were worth $22,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the first 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 holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $64.35 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.58 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The stock's 50-day moving average is $65.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.56. The firm has a market cap of $108.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.11.

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.

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