Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Key Points

• Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 7.5% in the second quarter, owning 63,278 shares worth approximately $3.71 million.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share in its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 0.2% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 6.5%, up from the previous dividend of $1.02.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,278 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,429 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Invst LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,589 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,676,000 after buying an additional 161,356 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $241,000. Finally, FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,237,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $65.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $109.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.44.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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