Somerset Trust Co Buys 215 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Somerset Trust Co lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,601 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,490,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Altria Group by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4%

MO opened at $66.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.28 and a 200 day moving average of $60.13. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group 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.