Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Has $960,000 Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 31.4%, holding shares worth approximately $960,000 after acquiring additional shares in the second quarter.
• Altria Group's recent earnings report indicated $1.44 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.4% yield.
• Several analysts have revised price targets for Altria Group, with Bank of America setting a target of $72.00 and a "buy" rating, while the overall consensus rating remains a "hold" with a target of $60.88.

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 31.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,370 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,908 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $66.29 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

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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