Great Lakes Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 224,080 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,435 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 62.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,094.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the second 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 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: Company raised its 2026 profit outlook, saying price increases on cigarettes and oral products should lift full?year profit above analysts’ estimates — a key offset to volume declines. Marlboro-maker Altria forecasts 2026 profit above estimates after price hikes
• Positive Sentiment: UBS lifted its price target and kept a Buy rating, signaling some analysts view Altria’s pricing power and dividend as supportive for valuation recovery. UBS lifts Altria (MO) price target, keeps buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated a “progressive” dividend growth posture and highlighted capital return (buybacks) capacity — supportive for income investors. Altria aims for ‘progressive’ dividend rate growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its full Q4/2025 results, slide deck and guidance documents — useful for modeling but largely reiterative of management commentary. Altria Reports 2025 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results; Provides 2026 Earnings Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript is available for details on product volumes, on! pouch growth and FDA/strategic updates — useful for granular read?throughs. Altria Group, Inc. (MO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS of $1.30 missed consensus (~$1.32) and cigarette shipment volumes declined, which pressured smokeable revenue despite pricing — the central reason for the stock weakness. Altria Group Inc (MO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong EPS Growth Amidst Volume Declines
• Negative Sentiment: Broad coverage (AP, WSJ, Barron’s, Zacks) highlighted the profit decline driven by cigarette volume drops and called the quarter a disappointment versus expectations. Altria earnings fall short amid lower cigarette sales and competition for nicotine products
• Negative Sentiment: Company filings highlighted leverage levels in its consolidated financial statements, a reminder of balance?sheet risk amid ongoing M&A and buybacks. Altria Files 2025 Consolidated Financial Statements Highlighting Leverage

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.78 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 319.43% and a net margin of 37.89%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

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.