Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 16,575 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC sold 16,575 shares of Altria Group, Inc., reducing its stake by 33% to 33,704 shares worth approximately $1,976,000.
• Altria recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06, with a 6.4% yield and a payout ratio of 82.01%.
• Equities analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for Altria, with target price estimates ranging from $57.00 to $72.00 following recent upgrades.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,704 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,575 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 42.3% during the second quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 10,650 shares of the company's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 54,651 shares of the company's stock worth $3,204,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 25.3% during the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 61,563 shares of the company's stock worth $3,608,000 after purchasing an additional 12,434 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,674 shares of the company's stock worth $2,502,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 31.4% during the second quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 13,038 shares of the company's stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $66.64 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $65.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.04. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America upped 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, August 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.11.

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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