MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $698,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,530 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,070,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,175 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,383,000 after purchasing an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $65.87 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.70 and a 1 year high of $77.06. The company has a market capitalization of $109.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction of $418,327.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This trade 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 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.