Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 200.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,538 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172,753 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 438.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962,270 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $89,460,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $2,449,191 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $69.23 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.14. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $115.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.70%.

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.