Banque Transatlantique SA Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Banque Transatlantique SA increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 101.3% during the first quarter, owning a total of 14,893 shares valued at approximately $826,000.
• Altria Group reported earnings of $1.44 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.4% yield.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Altria Group, with Bank of America setting a target of $72.00 and Morgan Stanley raising theirs to $62.00, amidst an average price target of $60.88.

Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 101.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,893 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,496 shares during the quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA's holdings in Altria Group were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in 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 lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its position in Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $65.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,002,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,965,237. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $62.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.85. The stock has a market cap of $110.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.