Prudential PLC Acquires Shares of 5,458 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has acquired 5,458 shares of Altria Group, valued at approximately $328,000, marking a new position in the tobacco company.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.37, with revenue of $5.29 billion compared to estimates of $5.21 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Altria Group, with an average consensus target price of $59.13 and two analysts rating the stock as a buy.

Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,490,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock worth $734,827,000 after purchasing an additional 441,083 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the first 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. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.5170 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.5070. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,395,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,739,701. The stock's 50-day moving average is $60.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $66.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

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.