Venture Visionary Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 6.5%, now holding 103,897 shares valued at approximately $6.09 million.
• A recent report revealed that several brokerages have increased their price targets for Altria Group, with Bank of America setting a new target of $72.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Altria Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06, reflecting a 6.5% yield, with dividends set to be paid on October 10th.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,897 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,251 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MO. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $65.58 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $110.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.68 and a 200-day moving average of $60.73.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Altria Group Company 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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