Haverford Trust Co Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Haverford Trust Co bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 59,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the second 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 period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after buying an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after buying an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,383,000 after acquiring an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $68.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $114.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $77.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.89.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.11.

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.