JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $717.91 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has increased its stake in Altria Group by 40%, owning approximately 11.96 million shares valued at $717.91 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Altria Group reported quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.37, with revenues at $5.29 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 6.4%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,415,237 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.71% of Altria Group worth $717,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:MO opened at $64.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $64.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

Altria Group 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.

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