Maverick Capital Ltd. Buys 36,899 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 239.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,322 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,899 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Altria Group by 26.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 951,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,762,000 after purchasing an additional 199,854 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 32.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,088,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,826,000 after purchasing an additional 265,221 shares in the last quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 18.9% during the first quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 7,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 373.0% during the first quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 21,921 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $4,314,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.78.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $72.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $75.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’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 forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 88.70%.

Altria Group Company 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.