Hourglass Capital LLC Buys 19,607 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Hourglass Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 33.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78,090 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,607 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.72 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.69. The stock has a market cap of $109.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.70 and a 12 month high of $77.06.

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

Altria Group 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.