Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Nov 12, 2023

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Rating) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 325,292 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,644 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up approximately 0.2% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 542 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 118.8% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 805 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 886 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 58.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.67.

Shares of MO traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.22. 2,800,646 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,859,809. The company has a market cap of $80.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $45.43 and its 200-day moving average is $45.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $54.37.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.01). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 245.43% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.90%.

Altria Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Smokeable Products, Oral tobacco products, and Wine. The Smokeable Products segment consists of cigarettes manufactured and sold by PM USA and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco manufactured and sold by Middleton.

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