Czech National Bank Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Czech National Bank increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 426,691 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,952 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $28,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.74.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.89% and a negative return on equity of 319.43%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.