Newport Trust Company LLC Has $7.86 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Newport Trust Company LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 130,878 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,575 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,092,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,829,000 after purchasing an additional 118,146 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its stake in Altria Group by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 91,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,473,000 after purchasing an additional 12,419 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 495.1% during the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 152,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,064,000 after purchasing an additional 126,583 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 37,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Altria Group by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,007,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,551,000 after purchasing an additional 980,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MO stock opened at $67.6280 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $67.87. The company has a market capitalization of $113.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

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.