21,572 Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Altria stake by 4.3% in the third quarter, buying 21,572 shares to reach 520,765 shares valued at about $35.1 million.
• Altria reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, slightly above the $1.51 consensus, and revenue of $5.44 billion, also ahead of estimates. Its quarterly dividend rose to $1.11 per share, an annualized $4.44 and a yield of about 5.8%.
• Analyst views remain mixed: five rate the stock Buy, six Hold and two Sell, giving Altria a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $71.67.

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 520,765 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,572 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $35,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company's stock worth $9,070,964,000 after buying an additional 1,325,175 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $1,104,566,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,929,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,194,000 after buying an additional 133,676 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $631,606,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Altria Group from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathryn McQuade purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Altria Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Altria reported third-quarter 2026 sales of $5.441 billion, net income of $2.518 billion and continuing-operations EPS of $1.51. The company also extended its long-running dividend-increase streak, continued share repurchases and pointed to growth in its on! nicotine pouch brand—supporting the case for earnings and cash returns. Are Strong Earnings Altering The Investment Case For Altria Stock (MO)?
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted MO’s high shareholder yield and appeal to investors seeking defensive income amid market volatility. One characterized the stock as trading in a buy zone as investors rotated toward consumer staples. Meet the High-Yield Dividend Stock Quietly Crushing the S&P 500 4 Stocks With Solid Shareholder Yields to Buy Amid US Market Decline Altria Stock Trades In Buy Zone As Investors Shift To Defense
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary questioning whether Altria’s dividend adequately compensates investors for its share-price risks highlights the need to weigh income against potential capital returns. The supplied article summary does not detail a new company-specific concern. Is Altria's Dividend Enough To Make Up For Its Share Price?

Altria Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $76.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.38 and a 200 day moving average of $69.15. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $79.87. The company has a market capitalization of $126.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 330.66% and a net margin of 34.51%. The business's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.70 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc is a U.S.-based tobacco and nicotine company whose businesses focus primarily on the domestic market. Its products include cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, oral nicotine products and e-vapor products.

Altria's portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, made by Philip Morris USA; Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco products, made by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company; and products from John Middleton and Helix Innovations. The company also owns NJOY, an e-vapor brand.

The company was established as Philip Morris Companies Inc and adopted the Altria name in 2003.

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