Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 13,541 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 3.4%, selling 13,541 shares and holding 388,961 shares valued at approximately $23.35 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.37, with revenues rising to $5.29 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.3% and an updated dividend payout ratio of 78.92%.

Corebridge Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 388,961 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,541 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $23,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.8% in the 1st 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock worth $717,913,000 after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 111.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock worth $333,606,000 after buying an additional 2,928,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased 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 equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MO traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,929,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,053,823. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.14. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $112.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

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.