First Financial Bank Trust Division Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,238 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.28 and a 200 day moving average of $60.09. The stock has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Altria Group Company 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.