Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 252,790 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,866,815 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252,790 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.17% of Altria Group worth $165,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $5,752,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $418,327.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.44.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $71.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.04 and a 200 day moving average of $64.68. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.70 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $119.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.