Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 811 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for 2.0% of Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $110.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $68.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.93.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

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.