Panagora Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Altria Group by 64.5% in the first quarter, now holding 88,469 shares valued at approximately $5.31 million.
• Altria Group's latest earnings report showed $1.44 EPS, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, yielding 6.3%, with the dividend payment scheduled for October 10th.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 64.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,469 shares of the company's stock after selling 161,050 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 152.2% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 58,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 35,168 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

MO stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $66.52. 5,935,439 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,158,553. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.78. The firm has a market cap of $111.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 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.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

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.