Corient Private Wealth LLC Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Corient Private Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,659 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $30,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position 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 buying an additional 335,089 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $69.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $115.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.35. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.