Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2,410.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 478,214 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 459,162 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 62.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,438,000 after acquiring an additional 886,583 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Trending Headlines about Altria Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management says price increases and cost discipline are boosting margins and full‑year profit is forecast above estimates, supporting near‑term cash generation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Altria keeps returning capital: high dividend (long streak of increases), buybacks and a progressive dividend policy remain central to the investment case and attract income buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company continues to push smoke‑free products (on! pouches, NJOY integration) and emphasizes innovation to offset falling cigarette volumes — a long‑term growth narrative for investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 EPS guidance of $5.56–$5.72 is essentially in line with consensus, leaving limited surprise risk but not a clear catalyst to re-rate the shares. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel trimmed its price target from $72 to $68 but maintained a buy rating — shows some analyst support despite tempered upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.30 missed consensus ($1.32) and cigarette shipment volumes fell ~10%; smokeable revenue pressure and smoke‑free weakness drove the initial selloff. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory, volume trends and company filings highlighting leverage/negative ROE raise longer‑term execution and balance‑sheet scrutiny among some investors. Read More.

Altria Group Trading Up 3.7%

MO opened at $61.97 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.30 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

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.