CX Institutional Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• CX Institutional reduced its stake in Altria Group by 4.4% in Q2, holding 116,568 shares worth approximately $6.83 million after selling 5,360 shares.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.07, and guided FY2025 EPS to be in the range of $5.350-$5.450.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.5% yield and a payout ratio of 82.01%.

CX Institutional lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,568 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,360 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,322,000. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 43,846 shares of the company's stock worth $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Novem Group acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4%

MO opened at $64.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $63.89 and its 200-day moving average is $60.40. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. 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 is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.

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.

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