12,234 Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,072 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,234 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 247,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,657,000 after acquiring an additional 27,846 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 26,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Asset Management boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 13,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 28,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group boosted its stake in Altria Group by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Novem Group now owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MO opened at $74.82 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $77.06. The stock has a market cap of $124.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.77.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $1.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 93.67%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. This trade represents a 1.32% increase 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, October 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc is a U.S.-based consumer products company focused primarily on tobacco, nicotine and related products. Through its operating companies, Altria sells cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, oral tobacco and nicotine products, and electronic vapor products.

Altria’s principal cigarette business is Philip Morris USA, whose portfolio includes Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia Slims. Its other major brands include Copenhagen and Skoal moist smokeless tobacco, Black & Mild cigars, on! nicotine pouches and NJOY electronic cigarettes.