LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 16.3% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 7,863 shares for a total value of approximately $3.3 million.
• Altria Group recently raised its quarterly dividend from $1.02 to $1.06, representing an annualized yield of 6.5%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings for Altria Group, with UBS Group raising its price target from $47 to $59, and a consensus target price now standing at $60.88.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,200 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,863 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

Altria Group stock opened at $65.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $110.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS 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%.Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.

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