Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $220.01 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,333,982 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,145 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Altria Group worth $220,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,830,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,275,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,141 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 grew its position in 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. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of Altria Group 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at $1,821,401.12. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.78.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $71.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $74.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.71.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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