Archford Capital Strategies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 49.4%, owning 116,956 shares valued at $6.86 million after purchasing an additional 38,655 shares in the second quarter.
• Altria Group's quarterly earnings exceeded estimates with $1.44 EPS and $5.29 billion in revenue, leading to a positive guidance for FY 2025 at 5.350-5.450 EPS.
• The company recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, representing a yield of 6.5%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 82.01%.

Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 49.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,956 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,655 shares during the quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock worth $3,798,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 111.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock worth $333,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928,006 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $65.67 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.69. The firm has a market cap of $110.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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