MAI Capital Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

MAI Capital Management lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,061 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 334.7% in the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.16 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.79. The company has a market capitalization of $97.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

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.