GQG Partners LLC Acquires 18,471,846 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• GQG Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Altria Group, acquiring 18,471,846 shares and raising its holdings by 8,146.4%, making Altria approximately 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Altria reported earnings of $1.44 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $5.29 billion, reflecting a 0.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02, yielding 6.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 78.92% as of the latest report.

GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8,146.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for 1.8% of GQG Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. GQG Partners LLC owned approximately 1.11% of Altria Group worth $1,122,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 88.5% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 17.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 12.2% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 152.2% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 58,268 shares of the company's stock worth $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 35,168 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $65.58. 10,747,938 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,581,546. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $60.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.17. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $66.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 78.92%.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.