Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Gries Financial LLC

Gries Financial LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,365 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $51,905,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $64.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.53. The firm has a market cap of $108.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.Altria Group’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.