Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Waverly Advisors LLC

Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,031 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,894 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,752,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:MO opened at $67.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $113.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 89.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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