Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 9.6% during the first quarter, now owning 400,072 shares worth approximately $24.01 million.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing consensus estimates, with revenue up by 0.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, representing a dividend yield of 6.4%, with payments set for October 10th.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 400,072 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,058 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $24,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.40. 10,018,628 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,003,779. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $63.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.02. The company has a market cap of $111.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

About Altria Group

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.