Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Roble Belko & Company Inc

Roble Belko & Company Inc lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 61.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,241 shares during the quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $46,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first 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. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $56.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.11 and its 200-day moving average is $61.86. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 7.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

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.