Fluent Financial LLC Buys Shares of 23,917 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Fluent Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 23,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,402,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.54 and a 200-day moving average of $61.07. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.