Empowered Funds LLC Takes $33.97 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 472,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,971,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,104,566,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $631,606,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $349,743,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MO shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $67.66 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.95. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $77.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.45%.

About Altria Group

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.