Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,170,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,412 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $67,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock worth $2,449,191 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:MO opened at $69.23 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.14. The company has a market cap of $115.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.70 and a 52 week high of $74.56.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 88.70%.

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.