12,828 Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 176,961 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,828 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,070,964,000 after buying an additional 1,325,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,104,566,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,929,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,194,000 after buying an additional 133,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $631,606,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.38. The company had a trading volume of 6,392,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,482,814. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $69.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.93. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 93.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathryn McQuade purchased 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, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 114,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Freedom Broker upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Altria to benefit from favorable earnings comparisons and estimates, raising the possibility of an earnings beat in the upcoming report. A stronger-than-expected result could support the stock and reinforce fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $5.61–$5.72. Altria (MO) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Altria extended its $3 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility by one year to October 2030. The unchanged terms preserve a substantial liquidity backstop and provide flexibility for working capital, capital allocation and shareholder returns ahead of earnings. Earnings Beat Hopes Could Matter For Altria Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Altria remains popular with income-focused investors because of its roughly 5.7% yield, repeated dividend increases and long-term total returns driven primarily by distributions rather than share-price appreciation. This may attract defensive investors, particularly when cash flows remain resilient. Altria’s Stock Has a Surprising 10-Year Return
• Negative Sentiment: Altria pays out approximately 89.3% of earnings as dividends. While the payout supports the stock’s income appeal, the limited earnings retained for reinvestment leaves less cushion if cigarette volumes decline, regulatory pressures increase or earnings weaken. Altria Pays Out 89.3% of Its Earnings as Dividends
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term concerns remain over shrinking cigarette volumes, previous write-downs and Altria’s weaker position in smoke-free products. Those structural risks may be weighing on the shares even as investors await a potentially favorable quarterly update.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc is a U.S.-based consumer products company focused primarily on tobacco, nicotine and related products. Through its operating companies, Altria sells cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, oral tobacco and nicotine products, and electronic vapor products.

Altria’s principal cigarette business is Philip Morris USA, whose portfolio includes Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia Slims. Its other major brands include Copenhagen and Skoal moist smokeless tobacco, Black & Mild cigars, on! nicotine pouches and NJOY electronic cigarettes.