ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 308,725 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,128 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,647,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after acquiring an additional 814,665 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,561,000 after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,889,000 after acquiring an additional 18,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $3,926,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $73.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.31. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $122.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.33.

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.