Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Apexium Financial LP

Key Points

• Apexium Financial LP increased its holdings in Altria Group by 55.4%, acquiring an additional 5,952 shares, bringing its total to 16,688 shares valued at approximately $1 million.
• Altria recently announced a dividend increase to $1.06 per share, up from $1.02, resulting in an annualized dividend of $4.24 and a dividend yield of 6.3%.
• Altria Group's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with earnings per share of $1.44, slightly above the consensus estimate of $1.37, and a revenue of $5.29 billion.

Apexium Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 55.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,688 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,952 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings 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 $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,972,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,530,448. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $61.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business 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 revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

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.