Woodline Partners LP Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 40.7% during the 1st quarter, owning 143,187 shares valued at approximately $8.6 million at the end of the period.
• Altria Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, representing a 6.4% yield, which is an increase from its previous dividend of $1.02.
• Analyst ratings for Altria Group show a consensus of "Hold" with a price target averaging $60.88, as multiple analysts have recently adjusted their projections.

Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 40.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,187 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,406 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,490,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,827,000 after purchasing an additional 441,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $66.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59. The business's fifty day moving average is $63.14 and its 200 day moving average is $60.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for 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%.Altria Group's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. 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 presently 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.

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