2,157,100 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. $MO Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems ET Al purchased over 2.15 million shares of Altria Group, valued at approximately $126 million, making it the fund's 13th largest position.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $5.29 billion, reflecting a slight annual increase.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, representing a yield of 6.5%, and has a current dividend payout ratio of 82.01%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,157,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,471,000. Altria Group comprises about 0.9% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.13% of Altria Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MO opened at $65.00 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.44. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $109.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.11.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

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