Old Peak Finance LLC Invests $678,000 in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Old Peak Finance LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000. Altria Group accounts for 0.4% of Old Peak Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $9,282,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,903,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,984,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,383,000 after purchasing an additional 729,999 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,753 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,705,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,543,000 after purchasing an additional 59,189 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,412,000 after buying an additional 47,757 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the company’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 sale, the director owned 73,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $2,449,191. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $68.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $114.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.29 and its 200 day moving average is $64.14.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 88.70%.

About Altria Group

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.