Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 229,666 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group by 14.0%, owning 1,413,871 shares after selling 229,666 shares in the first quarter.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.37, while also announcing a dividend increase from $1.02 to $1.06 per share.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Altria Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $60.88.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,413,871 shares of the company's stock after selling 229,666 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Altria Group worth $84,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock worth $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock worth $333,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MO shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,962,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,965,362. The stock has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $63.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.09.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's payout ratio is 78.92%.

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.