Uhlmann Price Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Uhlmann Price Securities LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,731 shares of the company’s stock after selling 481 shares during the quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 111.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $64.40 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.98 and a one year high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $108.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.52.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.