State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $18.11 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• The State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 3.0%, holding 308,878 shares worth $18.11 million.
• Altria Group has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.06 per share, reflecting a 6.5% dividend yield.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Altria Group, with target prices ranging from $50.00 to $72.00, and a consensus price of $60.88.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 308,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,710 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. One Plus One Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $596,000. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,976,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 52,404 shares of the company's stock worth $3,072,000 after acquiring an additional 6,117 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 5,094 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $588,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $65.67 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.65. The company has a market capitalization of $110.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.59.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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 dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group's 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.

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