Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Invests $204,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Altria Group by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $57.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.91. The stock has a market cap of $96.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The company 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 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.