Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 133,756 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,149 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 25.9% in the second quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 48.4% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 144,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,464,000 after purchasing an additional 47,093 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 45,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 29,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Four investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:MO opened at $56.45 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.