Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 15.4% during Q2, now holding 85,850 shares valued at approximately $5.03 million.
• Altria Group's quarterly dividend was raised to $1.06, reflecting an annualized yield of 6.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 82.01%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price for Altria Group at $62.11, with ratings ranging from Buy to Sell based on recent research updates.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 15.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,430 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,490,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,798,592,000 after buying an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after buying an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,827,000 after buying an additional 441,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $65.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $109.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.