First Horizon Corp Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,387,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after purchasing an additional 764,221 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,851,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,958,000 after purchasing an additional 374,425 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.53 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.08 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.04 and its 200-day moving average is $61.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.