Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Capital Management Corp VA

Key Points

• Capital Management Corp VA reduced its stake in Altria Group by 36.2%, owning 73,606 shares after selling 41,810 shares in Q2.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings, with Bank of America and Goldman Sachs both raising their target prices for Altria Group to $72.00, while Barclays maintains an "underweight" rating with a price objective of $57.00.
• Altria Group recently announced a dividend increase to $1.06 per share, representing a yield of 6.5% and a payout ratio of 82.01%.

Capital Management Corp VA cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 36.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,606 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,810 shares during the period. Capital Management Corp VA's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its position 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 valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $65.41 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.32. The company has a market capitalization of $109.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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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