State Street Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

State Street Corp lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,192,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,599,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,124,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.3% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Old Peak Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Old Peak Finance LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 114,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $68.72. 1,879,118 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,239,923. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $77.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.14. The firm has a market cap of $114.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Freedom Broker raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.