Osaic Holdings Inc. Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,392,568 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 238,487 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. owned about 0.08% of Altria Group worth $81,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank raised its holdings in Altria Group by 400.0% in the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.10 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

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.