Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Purchases 40,256 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 328,580 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,256 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $21,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after acquiring an additional 764,221 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,851,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,958,000 after purchasing an additional 374,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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 report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MO opened at $61.02 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.62 and its 200 day moving average is $61.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.08 and a 12-month high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $102.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’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. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.