Apollon Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 5.1%, owning a total of 82,697 shares worth approximately $4.8 million.
• Altria Group recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 0.2% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 6.4%.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,697 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,258 shares of the company's stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.9% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 26,807 shares of the company's stock worth $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.1% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 237,793 shares of the company's stock worth $13,894,000 after purchasing an additional 25,750 shares during the period. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.3% in the second quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 23,644 shares of the company's stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2%

Altria Group stock opened at $66.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.72 and a 200-day moving average of $61.22. The firm has a market cap of $111.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. 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. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.11.

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.

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