QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 107,128 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 818,649 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107,128 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $47,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC raised its stake in 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 period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $65.70 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.19 and a 200-day moving average of $60.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Company 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.