Whalerock Point Partners LLC Purchases 7,500 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,702 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $3,777,931,000 after buying an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,172,753 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,962,270 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $71.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.40 and a 200 day moving average of $64.98. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.70 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $119.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

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.