Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 7,550 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,550 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,752,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MO stock opened at $68.73 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $77.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.11. The company has a market capitalization of $114.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last 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, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 89.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Altria Group 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.