EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Sells 5,906 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,906 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 43.5% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 21,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $50.08 and a one year high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased 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 upped their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.