Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,121 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,539 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $24,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MO opened at $58.15 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 80.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted 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. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

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.