Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $2.87 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,515 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.70 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.95. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.