Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes $41.67 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 579,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,675,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,806,782,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3,691.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,606,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,492,000 after buying an additional 3,511,430 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,929,000 after buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $68.46 on Tuesday. The company 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.18 and a 200-day moving average of $68.89. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group 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.