Busey Bank Has $11.81 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Busey Bank increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 4.4% during the second quarter, owning 201,429 shares worth approximately $11.8 million.
• Altria Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, raising its annualized dividend yield to 6.5% from the previous $1.02.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Altria, with two "Buy," five "Hold," and two "Sell" ratings, and an average price target of $60.88.

Busey Bank grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 201,429 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,432 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank's holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 252.0% during the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 11,589 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $1,715,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 17.4% during the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company's stock worth $63,676,000 after purchasing an additional 161,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Altria Group by 18.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 202,587 shares of the company's stock worth $12,218,000 after purchasing an additional 30,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:MO traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $63.80. 7,625,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,045,412. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.