Seneca House Advisors Has $5.93 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Seneca House Advisors lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 89,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,278 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 2.4% of Seneca House Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Seneca House Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after buying an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,383,000 after acquiring an additional 729,999 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,174,000 after acquiring an additional 335,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.78.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $71.78. 7,334,373 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,513,980. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.70 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.58 and a 200-day moving average of $66.74. The company has a market capitalization of $119.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued 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 5.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.