Aberdeen Group plc Has $12.62 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 11.0%, acquiring an additional 20,967 shares, bringing its total holdings to 212,043 shares valued at $12,621,000.
• Altria Group reported earnings of $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.37 EPS, with revenue of $5.29 billion.
• A recent analyst report revealed upgrades in Altria's stock ratings, with Barclays increasing its target price from $49 to $57 and Stifel Nicolaus from $63 to $65.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 212,043 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,967 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.7% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 30,695 shares of the company's stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 14.0% during the first quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 21,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 100.4% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 85,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,102,000 after acquiring an additional 42,595 shares during the period. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% during the first quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 8,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

Altria Group stock traded down $0.0650 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.6150. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,600,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,618,873. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.76. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $113.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter 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 year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.00.

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.