iA Global Asset Management Inc. Buys 156,204 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 174.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 245,569 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,204 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 158,117,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,490,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,243,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,827,000 after acquiring an additional 441,083 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $56.45 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $50.08 and a one year high of $68.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.11 and a 200-day moving average of $61.89. The stock has a market cap of $94.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

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.