Hilltop National Bank Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank acquired 13,447 shares of Altria Group, Inc. worth about $788,000 in the second quarter, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors in the stock.
• Altria recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.02 to $1.06, raising the annualized dividend yield to 6.4%, indicating continued commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions with a consensus rating of "Hold", a price target ranging from $50.00 to $72.00, as the company reported strong earnings exceeding estimates for the last quarter.

Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,795,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,294,000 after purchasing an additional 113,863 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Altria Group by 42.4% during the 2nd quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc now owns 7,448 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 258,228 shares of the company's stock worth $15,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EWA LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.4% in the second quarter. EWA LLC now owns 5,335 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders 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 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 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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