State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 1,700 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 458,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $115,000. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 10,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 45,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 8,939 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $56.45 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group 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.