FNY Investment Advisers LLC Sells 42,893 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• FNY Investment Advisers LLC sold 42,893 shares of Altria Group, reducing its holdings by 76.4%, leaving them with 13,257 shares worth approximately $777,000.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Altria Group, with a consensus price target of $62.11, following various upgrades and downgrades from major firms.
• Altria Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, yielding a 6.6% annual dividend, reflecting a commitment to return value to shareholders.

FNY Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 76.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,257 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,893 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE MO opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.16 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business'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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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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