Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 100.4% in Q1, owning 85,006 shares worth about $5.1 million, as indicated in its latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors have also heightened their positions, with Sierra Ocean LLC boosting its holdings by 226.3% during the same period.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Altria Group; while Needham & Company upgraded it to a "hold," Barclays set a price target increase to $57.00 while maintaining an "underweight" rating.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 100.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,006 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,595 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,721 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.9530 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.5130. 2,964,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,120,370. The stock has a market cap of $113.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $67.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.50.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.