Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,318 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given 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 $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $66.54 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.72 and its 200-day moving average is $61.24. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $111.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.