Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 145.7% during the 2nd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 15,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 8,969 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 28,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 71,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE MO opened at $65.42 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.30. The firm has a market cap of $109.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.88.

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.