Strs Ohio Makes New $30.05 Million Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in Altria Group, purchasing 500,730 shares valued at approximately $30 million in the first quarter.
• Altria Group reported $1.44 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, and has increased its quarterly dividend from $1.02 to $1.06.
• Research firms have generally rated Altria with a Hold recommendation, with target prices ranging from $50 to $72 per share, reflecting mixed analyst sentiment.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 500,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,054,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 19,463 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Wealth Management Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Intrua Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 13,381 shares of the company's stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,039 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company's stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 419,322 shares of the company's stock worth $25,168,000 after acquiring an additional 68,063 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

MO traded up $0.28 on Friday, reaching $66.64. The company had a trading volume of 7,962,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,857,291. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $68.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day moving average of $60.13. The company has a market capitalization of $111.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.59.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 78.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group began 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company 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 given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.