Kendall Capital Management Decreases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Kendall Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,490,196,000 after buying an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,798,592,000 after buying an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,122,290,000 after buying an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,827,000 after buying an additional 441,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,913,000 after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7%

MO opened at $65.67 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.65. The company has a market cap of $110.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.