Integrity Alliance LLC. Has $1.79 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 83.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,184 shares during the quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Marshall Wace LLP grew 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,753 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 438.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,270 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,460,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $72.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $120.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.89. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.