Waverly Advisors LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,031 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,894 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE MO opened at $67.88 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.70 and a twelve month high of $77.06. The company has a market capitalization of $113.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.45%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.