Legal & General Group Plc Takes $631.61 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,778,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,606,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.53% of Altria Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,806,782,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $68.08 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $77.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The company’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

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.