Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 212.1% in Q2, owning over 1.3 million shares valued at approximately $79.6 million.
• Altria's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.44, surpassing estimates, and the company has set a FY 2025 EPS guidance of $5.350-$5.450.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, representing an increase from its previous dividend, with a yield of 6.5%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 212.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,358,342 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 923,160 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.08% of Altria Group worth $79,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company's stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,763,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,010,498. The company has a market cap of $108.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $64.00 and its 200-day moving average is $60.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report 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 stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.88.

About Altria Group

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.