Pure Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,709,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew 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 valued at $9,070,964,000 after buying an additional 1,325,175 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th 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. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in 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 Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,806,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $69.13 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.93. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $77.06. The company has a market cap of $115.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.