Torray Investment Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Torray Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,865 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,914 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $56.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.