Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Key Points

• Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 9.9% during the second quarter, owning a total of 51,448 shares worth approximately $3,016,000.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06, up from $1.02, representing an annual yield of 6.5%.
• In its latest earnings report, Altria Group beat analysts' expectations with an earnings per share of $1.44, compared to a consensus estimate of $1.37, and reported revenues of $5.29 billion.

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 9.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,448 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,627 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,290,000 after purchasing an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 40.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 111.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock worth $333,606,000 after buying an additional 2,928,006 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6%

Altria Group stock opened at $65.36 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $109.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.00.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.11.

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.

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