Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Intrust Bank NA

Intrust Bank NA grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,185 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MO shares. 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 report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. 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 report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $58.16 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.86. The company has a market cap of $97.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $50.08 and a one year high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.