State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 427,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $30,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Altria Group by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,752,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ennis Debra J. Kelly sold 5,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $418,327.50. Following the sale, the director owned 73,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,700.25. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Strahlman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.56, for a total transaction of $145,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,821,401.12. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of MO stock opened at $65.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $77.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.73.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.