Spinnaker Trust Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Spinnaker Trust grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,070 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $50.08 and a one year high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $96.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

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.