Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 575,041 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,803 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $37,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Altria Group by 1,094.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,919,000 after buying an additional 1,061,413 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 212.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,358,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,640,000 after buying an additional 923,160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $55.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.50. The firm has a market cap of $93.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.