QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 50.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 403,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 415,091 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Rather & Kittrell Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $416,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 37,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Five investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.56.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $61.84 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.54. The stock has a market cap of $103.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.08 and a 12-month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group 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.