Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Purchases 1,645 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $65.41 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.83 and a 200-day moving average of $61.32. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $109.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s 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 anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.