Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 484,354 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,739 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $34,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3,691.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,606,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511,430 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 286.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after buying an additional 3,321,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,980,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,282,143,000 after buying an additional 1,903,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 301.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,416,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,315,000 after buying an additional 1,814,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total value of $145,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,332,700.25. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of MO opened at $64.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.74. The firm has a market cap of $106.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $77.06.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Company 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.