Savant Capital LLC Buys 8,273 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 111,061 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,273 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forbes Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Horizon Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 141.8% during the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 8,438 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 34,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,596,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,615,000 after purchasing an additional 99,138 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.08 and a 12-month high of $68.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group Company 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.