Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 477,560 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75,164 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,282,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,530 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,383,000 after purchasing an additional 729,999 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,174,000 after purchasing an additional 335,089 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $72.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $121.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $74.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.27.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s 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.