MRA Advisory Group Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

MRA Advisory Group reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 71.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,809 shares during the period. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,070,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,175 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,104,566,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,929,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,194,000 after acquiring an additional 133,676 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:MO traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,527,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,112,368. The stock has a market cap of $115.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.24. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s 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 predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 93.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, Director Kathryn McQuade acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,771,498.98. This represents a 1.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc is a U.S.-based holding company focused primarily on tobacco and nicotine products. Through its operating companies, Altria manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, oral nicotine products and electronic cigarettes. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Marlboro cigarettes, Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco, Black & Mild cigars, NJOY e-cigarettes and on! nicotine pouches.

Altria’s principal businesses include Philip Morris USA, the largest U.S.