Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.6% in the first quarter, ending with 6.7 million shares valued at about $443 million.
• Several other major institutional investors also hold large positions in Altria, and hedge funds and institutions together own 57.41% of the company.
• Altria recently reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations, paid a $1.06 per share dividend yielding about 5.8%, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $70.78.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,713,303 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,333 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.40% of Altria Group worth $443,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company's stock worth $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after buying an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company's stock worth $2,651,383,000 after buying an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company's stock worth $1,286,174,000 after buying an additional 335,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 73,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.78.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $73.05 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $71.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $75.28. The firm has a market cap of $121.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm's 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, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 88.70%.

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.

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