NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 21.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 401,497 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 71,693 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $28,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MO stock opened at $67.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $113.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $77.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.45%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.