Jump Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 203.2%, acquiring a total of 23,865 shares, valued at approximately $1.43 million.
• Altria Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06, up from its previous dividend of $1.02, reflecting a yield of 6.4%.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.44, exceeding analysts' expectations and demonstrating a slight revenue increase of 0.2% year-over-year.

Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 203.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,865 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,993 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock worth $9,490,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock worth $3,798,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock worth $1,122,290,000 after purchasing an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock worth $734,827,000 after purchasing an additional 441,083 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock worth $717,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415,237 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.21. 5,929,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,513,975. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $112.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.23.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.