Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 371,057 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,663 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,104,566,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $631,606,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $349,743,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3,691.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,606,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511,430 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,559,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,261,146. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $77.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kathryn McQuade bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.62 per share, with a total value of $101,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 114,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,771,498.98. This represents a 1.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a tobacco and nicotine company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Through its operating companies, Altria develops, manufactures and markets cigarettes, cigars, oral tobacco products, nicotine pouches and electronic vaping products, with its business focused primarily on the United States.

Altria’s smokeable products portfolio includes Marlboro cigarettes, which are manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Philip Morris USA, as well as Black & Mild cigars through John Middleton.