Aviva PLC Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Aviva PLC lowered its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Altria Group by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $58.09 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend 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.