Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 859,223 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,592 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $56,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,229,000 after buying an additional 764,221 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,851,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,958,000 after acquiring an additional 374,425 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.56.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $61.08 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.