Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its holdings in Altria Group by 15.5% during the first quarter, owning 89,957 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Altria Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, up from the previous $1.02, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.4%.
• Analysts set a new price target for Altria Group, with Stifel Nicolaus and Bank of America both targeting $72.00, highlighting a consensus rating of “Hold” with a target of $60.88.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 89,957 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,050 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 340.2% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,949 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 14,644 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 345,787 shares of the company's stock worth $20,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,222 shares during the period. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 26.0% during the first quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 16,240 shares of the company's stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 136,441 shares of the company's stock worth $8,189,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 7,572 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.93. 1,669,821 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,945,060. The firm has a market cap of $110.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.90. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.