MBB Public Markets I LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc., purchasing 5,493 shares valued at approximately $330,000 during the first quarter.
• Altria recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, up from $1.02, reflecting a strong 6.4% dividend yield.
• Analysts have upgraded Altria's stock ratings, with Bank of America raising the price target from $64 to $72 and multiple firms adjusting their ratings between "buy" and "hold."

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3%

MO stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,018,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,003,779. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.