Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC significantly increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 13,343.2%, holding 530,066 shares valued at approximately $31 million.
• Altria Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, which represents an annual yield of 6.5% and reflects a boost from its previous dividend of $1.02.
• The company's stock showed a recent price increase of 1.4%, with a market capitalization of $108.94 billion and a current earnings per share estimate of 5.32 for the year.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 13,343.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 530,066 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 526,123 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of MO stock opened at $64.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.89 and a 200-day moving average of $60.40.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

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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