Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 400.0% in the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.76 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased 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 report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.