Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 37,900 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately 1,545,532 shares valued at $92.76 million.
• Altria Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 78.92%.
• The company reported $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $5.29 billion, a slight increase of 0.2% year-over-year.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,545,532 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.09% of Altria Group worth $92,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 27,280 shares of the company's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 16,234 shares of the company's stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,041,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 433,519 shares of the company's stock worth $22,669,000 after purchasing an additional 60,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.52. The stock had a trading volume of 5,935,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,133,504. The business's fifty day moving average is $62.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.74. The company has a market cap of $111.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.Altria Group's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Company 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.