SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Sells 2,364 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 270,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,364 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.43 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 80.92%.

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

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.