Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC Takes $652,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $652,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,383,000 after purchasing an additional 729,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,174,000 after buying an additional 335,089 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.78.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MO stock opened at $74.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $123.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $75.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.72 and a 200-day moving average of $67.28.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.