Capital International Inc. CA Has $17.94 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Capital International Inc. CA cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 271,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,318 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after buying an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 44,724,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,229,000 after buying an additional 764,221 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,122,000 after acquiring an additional 132,846 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Altria Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Altria Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on MO to $74 and reiterated a Buy, giving investors a clearer upside case that likely supports the stock’s uptick. UBS Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a note highlighting Altria as a strong momentum stock, reinforcing the view that earnings/flows and defensive rotation are supporting shares. Zacks Momentum Note
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and other outlets are featuring Altria as a high-yield, defensive income pick amid market volatility—supporting demand from income-focused investors. MarketBeat High-Yield Feature
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses (Seeking Alpha, 247WallSt) reiterate Altria’s durable cash flow and 6%-plus dividend yield, keeping it on radar as a defensive income play versus bonds. Seeking Alpha: Smoking’s Not Dead
• Neutral Sentiment: Company dividend details (quarterly $1.06; ex-dividend March 25) underpin yield attraction, but payout ratio >100% is a noted sustainability caveat. MarketBeat Dividend Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst landscape: several firms boosted targets while others remain cautious; consensus is still around “Hold,” so upgrades are not yet consensus-driven. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Charles Whitaker sold ~27,908 shares (~$1.9M) recently, trimming his stake ~13% — a short-term negative signal that some investors may note. Insider Sale Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results modestly missed EPS expectations and showed slight revenue decline YoY, reminders of demand pressures and regulatory risk that could cap multiple expansion. Earnings & Fundamentals

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $67.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $52.82 and a one year high of $70.51. The firm has a market cap of $112.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Altria Group 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.