Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $5.05 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB has reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 7.8%, holding 86,194 shares valued at approximately $5.05 million, after selling 7,302 shares.
• Altria Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06, reflecting a positive adjustment from the previous dividend and carrying an annualized yield of 6.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Altria Group's stock, with price targets ranging from $50 to $72, indicating varied outlooks on the company's future performance.

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,194 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,302 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 252.0% in the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 11,589 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,676,000 after buying an additional 161,356 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,237,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $65.41 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The company 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 50 day simple moving average of $65.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.32.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 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 net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio 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.

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