Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Sells 1,335 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Invst LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 11,589 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake 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 worth $63,676,000 after acquiring an additional 161,356 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth $241,000. Finally, FCG Investment Co bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $1,237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MO opened at $65.00 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $109.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’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. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

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.