Facet Wealth Inc. Acquires Shares of 13,706 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Facet Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,677,000 after buying an additional 44,303 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in 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 last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $126,471,000. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 43.0% during the 2nd quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. now owns 13,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 3,908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $61.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

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

About Altria Group

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.