Csenge Advisory Group Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,434 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,107 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Altria Group by 286.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 19.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after buying an additional 3,172,753 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 438.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after buying an additional 2,962,270 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $89,460,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $73.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $74.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.