Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,522 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,245 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,647,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after acquiring an additional 814,665 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Altria Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,561,000 after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,889,000 after acquiring an additional 18,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,926,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Five investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $71.94 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.98.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.70%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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 $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $2,449,191 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.