Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 775,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,020 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $45,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.20. 768,478 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,878,701. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

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.