Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by WBI Investments LLC

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group by 11.9%, selling 7,652 shares, which now accounts for about 0.9% of their total portfolio.
• Altria Group reported quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $5.29 billion, indicating a slight increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.4% yield, with the payment scheduled for October 10th.

WBI Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,853 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,652 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of WBI Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 11,381 shares of the company's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $66.64. The stock had a trading volume of 7,962,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,965,362. The business's fifty day moving average price is $63.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.09. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

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.