Huntington National Bank Purchases 9,109 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 156,298 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,109 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

About Altria Group

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.