Norden Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 329.7% during Q2, now owning 107,519 shares valued at approximately $6.3 million.
• Altria recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $1.02, which translates to an annual yield of 6.5%.
• Analyst ratings for Altria Group show a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $60.88, following various adjustments to price objectives from multiple brokerages.

Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 329.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,519 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,499 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up about 0.7% of Norden Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Norden Group LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Armis Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,905,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $64.83 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.53. The company has a market capitalization of $108.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.

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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