American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2%

MO stock opened at $67.09 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $112.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 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 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be 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 is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

About Altria Group

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.