Hancock Whitney Corp Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 26.9%, acquiring an additional 17,502 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 82,607 shares valued at approximately $4.96 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Altria Group, with price targets ranging from $49 to $72, and the company currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $60.88.
• Altria Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, effective October 10th, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.4%.

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,607 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,502 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $65.78. 10,307,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,000,920. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $62.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.78. The stock has a market cap of $110.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.Altria Group's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group 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.