Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Sells 12,639 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 70.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,639 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Viking Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,647,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,587,000 after purchasing an additional 814,665 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after purchasing an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,889,000 after purchasing an additional 18,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,926,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $2,449,191 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $69.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

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.