Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group updated its FY 2025 guidance to 5.300-5.450 EPS.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $58.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.66. The firm has a market cap of $98.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group has a 52 week low of $43.37 and a 52 week high of $60.18.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altria Group

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Altria Group stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,702 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

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.