Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 47,822 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,185,108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,822 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $276,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five 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, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.78.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $72.27 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.61. The company has a market capitalization of $120.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.70 and a 12 month high of $75.28.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Altria Group

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.