Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. Invests $588,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. has invested approximately $588,000 in Altria Group, purchasing 10,025 shares in the second quarter.
• Altria Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, up from $1.02, which reflects a 6.5% dividend yield.
• Altria's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.44, surpassing estimates, alongside revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter.

Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Two 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

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.