Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Altria Group by 24.4%, owning over 5 million shares valued at approximately $300.55 million.
• Altria Group recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, up from $1.02, resulting in an annualized dividend of $4.24 and a yield of 6.3%.
• Analysts currently have an average rating of Hold on Altria Group's stock with a consensus price target of $60.00, reflecting mixed sentiments on its growth prospects.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,007,508 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 980,772 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.30% of Altria Group worth $300,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after purchasing an additional 18,471,846 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $3,798,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483,487 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 40.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 111.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928,006 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1%

Altria Group stock opened at $67.6150 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released 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. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue 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, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.92%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.