Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Verus Financial Partners Inc.

Verus Financial Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up 0.3% of Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8%

MO opened at $65.74 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.86. The company has a market cap of $110.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.