Cwm LLC Has $25.64 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Cwm LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,156 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,530 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $25,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $126,471,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 184.6% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,095,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,800,000 after acquiring an additional 2,007,859 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 97.0% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,968,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.67. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $96.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.