Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 104.6% during the second quarter, owning 40,726 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, which represents a 6.5% yield, up from its previous dividend of $1.02.
• Altria Group's stock experienced a 1.9% decline, opening at $65.41, with a market capitalization of $109.88 billion and a PE ratio of 12.65.

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 104.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,726 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,821 shares during the quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.41 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.07. The firm has a market cap of $109.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.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 company posted $1.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. 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. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.11.

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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