Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors acquired 149,547 Altria shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $10.76 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.41% of Altria’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: five analysts rate Altria a Buy, four a Hold and two a Sell, resulting in an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.
• Altria’s latest quarterly results slightly missed EPS expectations, reporting $1.48 versus the $1.50 consensus, while revenue of $5.36 billion edged above forecasts and rose 1.2% year over year.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 149,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,760,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3,691.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,606,561 shares of the company's stock worth $259,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511,430 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company's stock worth $295,929,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 301.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,416,142 shares of the company's stock worth $139,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group 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 sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $65.87 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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