Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,169,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 318,087 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $605,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 24.9% in the 3rd 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. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $67.08 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Altria Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on MO to $74 and reiterated a Buy, giving investors a clearer upside case that likely supports the stock’s uptick. UBS Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a note highlighting Altria as a strong momentum stock, reinforcing the view that earnings/flows and defensive rotation are supporting shares. Zacks Momentum Note
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and other outlets are featuring Altria as a high-yield, defensive income pick amid market volatility—supporting demand from income-focused investors. MarketBeat High-Yield Feature
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses (Seeking Alpha, 247WallSt) reiterate Altria’s durable cash flow and 6%-plus dividend yield, keeping it on radar as a defensive income play versus bonds. Seeking Alpha: Smoking’s Not Dead
• Neutral Sentiment: Company dividend details (quarterly $1.06; ex-dividend March 25) underpin yield attraction, but payout ratio >100% is a noted sustainability caveat. MarketBeat Dividend Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst landscape: several firms boosted targets while others remain cautious; consensus is still around “Hold,” so upgrades are not yet consensus-driven. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Charles Whitaker sold ~27,908 shares (~$1.9M) recently, trimming his stake ~13% — a short-term negative signal that some investors may note. Insider Sale Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results modestly missed EPS expectations and showed slight revenue decline YoY, reminders of demand pressures and regulatory risk that could cap multiple expansion. Earnings & Fundamentals

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.11.

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.