Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Acquires 6,441 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 18.6%, bringing its total shares to 40,994, valued at approximately $2.46 million.
• Altria Group reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates by $0.07, with a revenue of $5.29 billion.
• The company's quarterly dividend was raised to $1.06, representing an annualized amount of $4.24 and a dividend yield of 6.4%.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,994 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,441 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock worth $9,490,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock worth $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock worth $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock worth $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.64. The stock had a trading volume of 7,962,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,857,291. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $63.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.13. The firm has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

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.