Apexium Financial LP Has $989,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Apexium Financial LP boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $65.70 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.19 and its 200 day moving average is $60.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s 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. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. 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. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.88.

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.