Conning Inc. Sells 1,523 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Conning Inc. reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,523 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Invst LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 252.0% in the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 11,589 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,715,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,676,000 after acquiring an additional 161,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $241,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $111.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.22.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Company 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.