Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd has reduced its stake in Altria Group by 31.0% during the second quarter, now holding 12,692 shares valued at approximately $744,000.
• Altria recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.5% dividend yield and an annualized total of $4.24.
• Multiple analysts have issued mixed ratings on Altria, with target prices ranging from $50 to $72, indicating varying investor sentiment towards the stock's future performance.

Perpetual Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,692 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,694 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,790,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 131.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.89 on Tuesday, reaching $64.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,763,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,010,498. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business'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. Equities analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. 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 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.