Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,988 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,925 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in 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. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,174,000 after buying an additional 335,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Five 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.78.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $70.44 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.05. The firm has a market cap of $117.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.