Altria Group, Inc. $MO Holdings Reduced by Souders Financial Advisors

Souders Financial Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,044 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $126,471,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,715,000. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 252.0% in the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 11,589 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 79,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,086,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,676,000 after acquiring an additional 161,356 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MO opened at $57.24 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.08 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $96.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.84.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

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.