Altria Group, Inc. $MO Position Boosted by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 715.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 654,966 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 574,650 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $43,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,752,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.78.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $71.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $119.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.80.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 88.70%.

Altria Group Company 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.