Stephens Inc. AR Purchases 82,168 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Altria Group by 55.5%, acquiring 82,168 shares during the 2nd quarter, resulting in a total of 230,342 shares valued at approximately $13.7 million.
• Altria Group's stock has received a mix of ratings from analysts, with four analysts issuing a "Buy," while the average price target is noted at $62.11.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06, increasing from the prior dividend and yielding 6.6%, with a payout ratio currently at 82.01%.

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,342 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,168 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Altria Group were worth $13,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $64.40 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.98 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $108.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.87 and a 200-day moving average of $61.52.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.

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