North Dakota State Investment Board Buys New Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 57,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,336,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 19,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 35,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five research 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.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:MO opened at $73.67 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.72 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.70%.

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.