Vident Advisory LLC Sells 46,268 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group by 24.9%, selling 46,268 shares during the first quarter and now holding 139,357 shares valued at approximately $8.36 million.
• Altria Group recently announced a dividend increase, with a quarterly payout of $1.06 per share, reflecting a yield of 6.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 82.01%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS.

Vident Advisory LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 24.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,357 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,268 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.09. 6,916,777 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,040,958. The stock has a market cap of $112.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.41.

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 the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business's quarterly 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, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.88.

About Altria Group

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.