Railway Pension Investments Ltd Has $84.58 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Railway Pension Investments Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,466,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 248,100 shares during the quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $84,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Altria Group by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after buying an additional 3,172,753 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 438.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after buying an additional 2,962,270 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,460,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $69.63 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.21 and its 200-day moving average is $64.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $116.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during 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%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $418,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $2,449,191 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.