Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases 8,957 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,498 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 10,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Altria Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 78,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,619,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.56.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $61.08 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.55 and a 200-day moving average of $61.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $102.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

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

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.