Sharp Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sharp Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after purchasing an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,798,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415,237 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 111.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $66.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.24. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

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.