Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,185 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE MO opened at $65.42 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $63.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.30. The firm has a market cap of $109.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, 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 (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is an increase 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 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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