Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Position Raised by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 91,806 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,143 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,752,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MO opened at $73.61 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The stock has a market cap of $122.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.