First Nebraska Trust Co Invests $1.31 Million in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 19,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $3,777,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

More Altria Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Altria’s second-quarter adjusted EPS rose from $1.44 to $1.48 year over year, while revenue reached approximately $5.36 billion, slightly above analysts’ expectations. Higher cigarette pricing, particularly for Marlboro, helped offset declining shipment volumes. Altria Group Q2 Adjusted Earnings, Revenue Rise; Fiscal 2026 Adjusted EPS Outlook Narrowed
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted expansion of its on! PLUS nicotine pouch brand to roughly 120,000 stores and continued investment in smoke-free products, supporting expectations for long-term category growth. Shareholder returns and resilient cash flow also remain attractive to income-focused investors. Altria Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Smoke-Free Growth Plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Altria narrowed its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $5.61-$5.72, broadly surrounding the analyst consensus of $5.68. The revised range offers some earnings visibility but suggests limited near-term upside without stronger volume or smoke-free growth. Altria Group Q2 Adjusted Earnings, Revenue Rise; Fiscal 2026 Adjusted EPS Outlook Narrowed
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter EPS of $1.48 missed the $1.50 consensus estimate. Cigarette volumes weakened as inflation encouraged some consumers to trade down from premium Marlboro products, while softer oral-tobacco sales and intensified nicotine-pouch competition pressured results. Altria Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Cigarette Volumes Down
• Negative Sentiment: Levi & Korsinsky announced an investigation into whether Altria accurately described the FDA regulatory status of on! PLUS and the prospects for near-term authorization of additional applications. The inquiry adds potential legal and regulatory overhang to the stock. Altria Group Investigation Notice

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.78.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8%

MO opened at $68.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.30. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.70 and a twelve month high of $77.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.2%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.45%.

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.