Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 462,030 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,162 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $27,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 39,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,378,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $58.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.13 and a 200-day moving average of $61.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.