Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Position Lifted by Wealthspire Advisors LLC

Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,973 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.60 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.83.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.