Sage Capital Advisors llc Sells 102,881 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Sage Capital Advisors significantly reduced its holdings in Altria Group, selling 102,881 shares and lowering its position by 87.2%, leaving it with just 15,084 shares.
• Altria reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, exceeding estimates, while its revenue increased to $5.29 billion, reflecting a 0.2% year-over-year growth.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.4% for investors.

Sage Capital Advisors llc lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,084 shares of the company's stock after selling 102,881 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc's holdings in Altria Group were worth $884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock worth $9,490,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MO stock opened at $66.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average is $63.28 and its 200 day moving average is $60.09. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change 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 is 78.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group 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.

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