Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Holdings Increased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,952,375 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40,974 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Altria Group worth $128,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.78.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MO opened at $70.44 on Thursday. 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 $117.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. 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 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

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.