GoalVest Advisory LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,734 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 815 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its holdings in 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 period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $64.72 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $49.58 and a one year high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.76.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid 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 yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Four 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Company 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.