Railway Pension Investments Ltd Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Railway Pension Investments Ltd cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,264,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,800 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.1% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $90,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 86.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 6.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $5,752,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $68.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.01. The company has a market cap of $114.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.45%.

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.