Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Ameriflex Group Inc.

Ameriflex Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,669 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,316 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $65.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.