GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Has $20.75 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 2.1% during the first quarter, owning 345,787 shares worth approximately $20.75 million.
• Altria recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06, which marks an increase from the previous $1.02 dividend, representing a yield of 6.3%.
• Analysts have varied views on Altria's stock; Bank of America raised its price target from $64.00 to $72.00, while Barclays set a target of $57.00, assigning an "underweight" rating.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 345,787 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,222 shares during the quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $20,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,347,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,011,140. The business's fifty day moving average price is $62.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.51. The firm has a market cap of $111.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

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.