Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 0.6%, now holding 732,064 shares valued at approximately $42.9 million.
• Altria Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.06 per share, offering a dividend yield of 6.5%, with the payout ratio at 82.01%.
• Equities analysts have varied ratings for Altria Group, with a consensus price target of $60.88 and a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings assigned.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 732,064 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,240 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Altria Group were worth $42,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8,146.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 18,698,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,122,290,000 after acquiring an additional 18,471,846 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $219,141,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,288,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,798,592,000 after acquiring an additional 3,483,487 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,961,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,558,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $64.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.13 and a 200-day moving average of $60.53. The company has a market capitalization of $108.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 3.43 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.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. 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. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 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.

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