Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Argentarii LLC

Key Points

• Argentarii LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group by 69.1% in Q2, selling 9,282 shares, leaving them with 4,154 shares worth $244,000.
• Altria Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, offering an annualized payout of $4.24 and a dividend yield of 6.6%.
• After reporting earnings that beat estimates, analysts have set price targets ranging from $50 to $72, with an average rating of "Hold" for the stock.

Argentarii LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,154 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,282 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7%

MO stock opened at $63.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $107.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

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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