4,199 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. $MO Bought by Uptick Partners LLC

Key Points

• Uptick Partners LLC has acquired 4,199 shares of Altria Group, valued at approximately $246,000, marking a new position for the firm in the second quarter.
• Altria Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, up from $1.02, offering a yield of 6.5% based on an annualized payout of $4.24.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets on Altria Group, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target from $65.00 to $72.00, while the average price target is now $62.11.

Uptick Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock worth $9,490,196,000 after buying an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock worth $3,798,592,000 after buying an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,290,000 after buying an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock worth $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MO opened at $64.91 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $109.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $65.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.34.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.11.

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.

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