Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Purchased by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 123,638 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,520 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.79 on Wednesday, hitting $69.34. The stock had a trading volume of 6,957,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,135,973. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.70 and a twelve month high of $77.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.27. The firm has a market cap of $115.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.62 per share, for a total transaction of $101,430.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 114,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. Barclays decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc is a U.S.-based holding company focused primarily on tobacco and nicotine products. Through its operating companies, Altria manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, oral nicotine products and electronic cigarettes. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Marlboro cigarettes, Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco, Black & Mild cigars, NJOY e-cigarettes and on! nicotine pouches.

Altria’s principal businesses include Philip Morris USA, the largest U.S.