Farther Finance Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 98.3%, purchasing an additional 47,500 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total to 95,833 shares valued at approximately $5.62 million.
• Altria Group has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.5% yield, which marks an increase from its previous dividend of $1.02.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a better-than-expected EPS of $1.44 against a consensus estimate of $1.37, with revenue reaching $5.29 billion.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,833 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,500 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,322,000. Novem Group acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 25,997 shares of the company's stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $63.80. 7,625,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,045,412. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $63.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group's 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. 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 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their target price 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.