Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 25,056 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 531,566 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,056 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $64.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.76 and a 200-day moving average of $61.72. The company has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $49.58 and a one year high of $68.60.

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 net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.