Cromwell Holdings LLC Increases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,616 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 101.0% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 33,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 16,630 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Iams Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 20.7% in the first quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8%

MO opened at $65.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.07 and its 200-day moving average is $60.86. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.88.

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.