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

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $126,471,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,715,000. Invst LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 252.0% during the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 11,589 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $5,388,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 79,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after buying an additional 4,149 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.15 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization 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 fifty day moving average price of $63.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

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.