Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Increases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 255,315 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,472 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $66.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.22.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Four investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

About Altria Group

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.