Altria Group, Inc. $MO Position Cut by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC has reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 10.9%, selling 6,378 shares, leaving it with 52,186 shares valued at approximately $3.13 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc., have increased their stakes in Altria Group, indicating continued interest from institutional investors.
• Altria Group recently raised its quarterly dividend from $1.02 to $1.06 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $4.24 with a yield of 6.3%, reflecting the company's ongoing commitment to shareholder returns.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,186 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,378 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 88.5% during the first 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 period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 152.2% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 58,268 shares of the company's stock worth $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 35,168 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MO. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

Altria Group stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,935,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,158,553. The firm has a market cap of $111.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.78. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

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.