Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Sells 5,647 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 68,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,647 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.5% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $56.45 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.