Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,504 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,261 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $22,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 334.7% during the second quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.19 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.08 and a twelve month high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group 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.