LPL Financial LLC Acquires 658,500 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,414,397 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 658,500 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $254,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 79.0% during the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $71.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.04 and its 200 day moving average is $64.68. 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 capitalization of $119.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Insider Activity

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

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.