Clarity Financial LLC Has $965,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Clarity Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,461 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the quarter. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $66.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.81. The company has a market capitalization of $111.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

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.