Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Invst LLC

Key Points

• Invst LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 252%, amassing 16,188 shares valued at approximately $972,000.
• Altria Group recently reported $1.44 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenues of $5.29 billion.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.06 per share, representing a 6.4% yield, to be paid on October 10th.

Invst LLC grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 252.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,188 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,589 shares during the period. Invst LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,490,196,000 after buying an additional 1,300,787 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,798,592,000 after buying an additional 3,483,487 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after buying an additional 18,471,846 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,827,000 after buying an additional 441,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $66.64 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $63.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.09. The company has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG 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.

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 (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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue 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, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average 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.

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