Westmount Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Westmount Partners LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 35.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,865 shares during the quarter. Westmount Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Invst LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 252.0% during the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 11,589 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Altria Group by 18.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 202,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,218,000 after buying an additional 30,860 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $64.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.23.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 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 up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 78.92%.

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.