Level Four Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 9.0%, acquiring an additional 7,941 shares for a total of 96,213 shares valued at $5,775,000.
• Several institutional investors significantly boosted their holdings in Altria Group, including GQG Partners, which raised its position by 8,146.4% to own over 18 million shares.
• Altria Group recently reported $1.44 EPS in its latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue also surpassing predictions at $5.29 billion.

Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,213 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,941 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.0650 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.6150. The stock had a trading volume of 9,600,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,618,873. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.76. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.59.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue 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 fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is an increase 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 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.