Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 214,108 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management increased its Altria stake by 5.9%, purchasing 214,108 shares to hold 3.83 million shares worth approximately $275.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.41% of the company.
• Altria raised its quarterly dividend to $1.11 per share, or $4.44 annually, resulting in a 6.4% yield. Its latest quarterly earnings of $1.48 per share fell slightly short of estimates, while revenue increased 1.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $70.11 target price; shares recently traded near $68.91. Price opinions range from Barclays’ $58 underweight target to UBS’s $79 buy target.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,829,147 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 214,108 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.23% of Altria Group worth $275,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,070,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,175 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company's stock worth $4,275,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company's stock worth $2,651,383,000 after acquiring an additional 729,999 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,806,782,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,104,566,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MO opened at $68.91 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $68.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.17. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.70 and a 12 month high of $77.06. The company has a market capitalization of $115.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.Altria Group's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 114,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.11.

About Altria Group

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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