Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stock Position Lifted by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 183.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,346 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,351 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,174,000 after acquiring an additional 335,089 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $418,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $73.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.78. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The company has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 88.70%.

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.