The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $99.24 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 29.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,379,243 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 315,892 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $99,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 668,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,531,000 after purchasing an additional 44,267 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 38,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,569,000 after purchasing an additional 14,490 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $3,336,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Altria Group by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 266,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,696,000 after buying an additional 21,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Altria Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 665,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,361,000 after buying an additional 15,728 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Altria Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Kathryn B. McQuade purchased 1,500 shares of Altria at an average price of $67.62, increasing her direct holdings by 1.32%. The roughly $101,000 insider purchase may signal confidence that the stock’s valuation and dividend remain attractive. SEC insider transaction filing
• Positive Sentiment: Recent investment coverage continues to highlight MO as an income-oriented stock, citing its multidecade record of dividend increases, approximately 6%-plus yield, and relatively attractive valuation. Those features may support demand from retirement and dividend-focused investors. Dividend streak article
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary says Altria and other tobacco companies are responding to declining cigarette volumes and rising costs by expanding smoke-free products and adapting to changing consumer preferences. The strategy offers long-term growth potential, but execution and category adoption remain important risks. Tobacco industry dynamics article
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha downgraded Altria to Hold, citing technical consolidation below its 50-day moving average and mixed second-quarter results. Smokeable products remained resilient, but oral tobacco revenue fell 5.2% year over year, raising concerns about growth momentum despite the stock’s low forward valuation and high yield. Altria rating downgrade article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn B. Mcquade bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. The trade was a 1.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $69.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 93.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group increased 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.