Winning Points Advisors LLC Invests $484,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000. Altria Group makes up about 0.5% of Winning Points Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $5,752,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of MO stock opened at $71.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.34% and a negative return on equity of 298.69%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 88.70%.

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.