Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 128,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,719,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Novem Group increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Drum Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $57.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.86. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group 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.