Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 859,223 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,592 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.05% of Altria Group worth $56,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

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

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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 research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

About Altria Group

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.