Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Purchases 68,984 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 82.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 153,130 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 68,984 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,929,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,262 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,285,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,753 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 438.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,270 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $89,460,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,264,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,525 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst tone turning more constructive — a Seeking Alpha piece argues Wall Street’s upgrade reflects renewed confidence in Altria’s pricing power, new products and market opportunities, suggesting upside versus prior overly?pessimistic views. Altria: Wall Street Finally Came To Its Senses
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory/product progress — Altria is rolling out on! PLUS nicotine pouches nationwide after selection for the FDA’s fast?track pilot for certain nicotine products, which supports the company’s smoke?free growth narrative and could improve long?term revenue mix if adoption scales. Altria’s on! PLUS Fast Track Launch Tests Smoke Free Growth Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings focus — preview coverage notes a modest expected rise in Q1 EPS; investors are watching top?line trends (smokable volume vs. pricing/new product mix) for confirmation of guidance and margin stability. Earnings could swing sentiment in either direction. What to Expect From Altria Group’s Q1 2026 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/short?term technicals — market commentary highlights a recent pullback after a strong run; MO still yields in the high single digits and trades near its 50/200?day averages, keeping income investors engaged but leaving limited upside for growth?focused buyers. Assessing Altria Group (MO) Valuation After Recent Share Pullback And Mixed Short Term Returns
• Negative Sentiment: Dividends and growth concerns — a Seeking Alpha analysis warns Altria’s long Dividend King streak faces challenges as growth slows, flagging balance?sheet and runway risks that could pressure the dividend narrative central to investor demand. That critique likely weighs on income?focused holders. Very Bad News For Altria: This Dividend King Is Running Out Of Runway
• Negative Sentiment: Comparative risk vs. peers — analyst commentary and comparisons (e.g., vs. Philip Morris) highlight divergent fundamentals and the possibility that one dividend story is riskier than another, which can prompt reallocation away from MO among yield?seeking portfolios. Altria vs. Philip Morris: One Dividend Is a Trap — Here’s Which One to Avoid

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $64.46 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $70.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.