Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,908 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $56.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average 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.