Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC has made a new investment in Altria Group, acquiring 5,388 shares valued at approximately $323,000 during the first quarter of the year.
• Altria Group recently announced a dividend increase, boosting its quarterly dividend from $1.02 to $1.06 per share, which results in an annualized dividend of $4.24 and a yield of 6.4%.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.44, exceeding consensus estimates, and revenue of $5.29 billion, reflecting a slight year-over-year increase.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1%

MO stock opened at $66.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.94.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 78.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

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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