Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 1,001 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.15 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $97.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, August 22nd. Four 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

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.