Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 111.3% in Q1, owning over 5.5 million shares valued at approximately $333.61 million.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) in its latest quarterly earnings, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.37.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds currently hold 57.41% of Altria Group's stock, reflecting a significant interest in the company.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 111.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,928,006 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.33% of Altria Group worth $333,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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 on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.13.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.5170 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.5070. 6,395,470 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,739,701. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $66.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.