Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2,410.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 478,214 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 459,162 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,620,229,000 after purchasing an additional 764,221 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after buying an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,851,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,958,000 after buying an additional 374,425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management says price increases and cost discipline are boosting margins and full?year profit is forecast above estimates, supporting near?term cash generation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Altria keeps returning capital: high dividend (long streak of increases), buybacks and a progressive dividend policy remain central to the investment case and attract income buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company continues to push smoke?free products (on! pouches, NJOY integration) and emphasizes innovation to offset falling cigarette volumes — a long?term growth narrative for investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance of $5.56–$5.72 is essentially in line with consensus, leaving limited surprise risk but not a clear catalyst to re-rate the shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel trimmed its price target from $72 to $68 but maintained a buy rating — shows some analyst support despite tempered upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.30 missed consensus ($1.32) and cigarette shipment volumes fell ~10%; smokeable revenue pressure and smoke?free weakness drove the initial selloff. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory, volume trends and company filings highlighting leverage/negative ROE raise longer?term execution and balance?sheet scrutiny among some investors. Read More.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $61.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $104.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $51.30 and a one year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.56.

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.