Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 428,038 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,716 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $25,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four 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 data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.45 and its 200-day moving average is $61.82. The company has a market cap of $96.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were 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 was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 80.92%.

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.