Simon Quick Advisors LLC Sells 12,866 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 79.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,318 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,866 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after buying an additional 764,221 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after buying an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Altria Group by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,851,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,958,000 after buying an additional 374,425 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6%

MO opened at $57.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.08 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.