Associated Banc Corp Acquires 924 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Associated Banc Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,491 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its position in Altria Group by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.