Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Altria Group by 108.8% in the first quarter, acquiring over 1.18 million shares to reach a total of 2.27 million shares.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.3% yield.
• Analyst ratings for Altria Group are mixed, with two 'Buy', five 'Hold', and two 'Sell' ratings, and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 108.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,275,515 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,185,515 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.14% of Altria Group worth $136,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised 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, August 22nd. 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 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MO traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.52. The stock had a trading volume of 5,935,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,133,504. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.70. The company has a market capitalization of $111.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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