Ewa LLC Acquires 501 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Ewa LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,335 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the quarter. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $66.29 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.95 and a 200-day moving average of $60.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 business 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 firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group 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.