Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Holdings Lowered by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 101,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,644 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 17,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $795,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.60. The company has a market capitalization of $109.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.