Strs Ohio Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

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

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Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 51.8% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.40 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.86 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $63.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.02. The company has a market capitalization of $111.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.06 dividend. 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 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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A number of research firms have commented on MO. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.88.

Read Our Latest Report on MO

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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