Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by West Bancorporation Inc.

West Bancorporation Inc. lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 780 shares during the quarter. West Bancorporation Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $111.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.20.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

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.