Calamos Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,822 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,072 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903,530 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,141 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 729,999 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,306,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,174,000 after purchasing an additional 335,089 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,821,401.12. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. 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 note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.78.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $70.44 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $117.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.