Manchester Financial Inc. Boosts Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Manchester Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,750 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP grew its holdings in Altria Group by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 3,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 919,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,892,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $881,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 63,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after acquiring an additional 4,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $65.00 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.90 and a 200 day moving average of $61.41. The company has a market capitalization of $109.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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. The company 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%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were 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 was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.