Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 7,550 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,550 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. BTIG Research started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $68.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $77.06.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $1.11 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.45%.

Altria Group Company 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.