Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 602,120 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $35,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,813 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.08. 9,262,748 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,569,864. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.34. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.73 and a 1 year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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.