DAVENPORT & Co LLC Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC has cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. by 34.0%, reducing its holdings to 206,838 shares valued at $12.1 million.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37, showing a slight increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company is set to increase its dividend, with a new quarterly payout of $1.06, up from the previous $1.02, reflecting a dividend yield of 6.5%.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 34.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,586 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $65.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.11.

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.

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