Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Altria stake by 4.9% in the second quarter to 411,470 shares valued at approximately $29.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.41% of Altria’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11. Recent ratings ranged from “Buy” to “Sell,” while Altria shares opened at $68.73.
• Altria raised its quarterly dividend from $1.06 to $1.11 per share, representing a $4.44 annualized payout and a 6.5% yield. The company slightly missed quarterly EPS estimates but reported $5.36 billion in revenue, up 1.2% year over year.

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 411,470 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,215 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $29,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,104,566,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $631,606,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $349,743,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $68.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 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 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 89.45%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc NYSE: MO is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria's smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.

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