State of Wyoming Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming increased its stake in Altria Group by 47.4%, owning a total of 14,124 shares valued at approximately $848,000.
• Altria Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.4% yield and up from the previous $1.02.
• Despite positive earnings results and a raised dividend, analysts have mixed ratings, with the consensus being a "Hold" rating and an average price target of $60.88.

State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 47.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,124 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,539 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Altria Group were worth $848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,081,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 65.8% in the 1st quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 3,778 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 200,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,016,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 191,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,509,000 after buying an additional 36,189 shares during the period. Finally, PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2%

Altria Group stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.09. The company had a trading volume of 4,901,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,026,240. The stock has a market cap of $112.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.96 and a 200 day moving average of $59.41.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.