U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 89.3% by purchasing an additional 142,012 shares, bringing its total holdings to 301,026 shares valued at approximately $17.65 million.
• Several research firms have recently raised their price targets for Altria Group, with Bank of America increasing its target from $64 to $72, indicating a positive outlook despite mixed ratings from analysts.
• Altria Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06, up from $1.02, reflecting a 6.5% dividend yield and an 82.01% dividend payout ratio.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 89.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,026 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,012 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $1.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.80. 7,625,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,889,683. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.00 and a 200 day moving average of $60.50. The company has a market cap of $107.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 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.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.