Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 137,401 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 137,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,886,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 126,073,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,070,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,175 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,931,000 after buying an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,383,000 after buying an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $65.87 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.86. The stock has a market cap of $109.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.70 and a 52-week high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.