Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 125,536 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 46.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 145,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125,536 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 202,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,647,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,587,000 after buying an additional 814,665 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Altria Group by 13.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after buying an additional 17,429 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,889,000 after buying an additional 18,626 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services bought a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $3,926,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of MO stock opened at $72.41 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.78. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $120.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 298.69% and a net margin of 34.34%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 88.70%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.