Conning Inc. Purchases 357,409 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Conning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4,073.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 366,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 357,409 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $24,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,158,000 after acquiring an additional 26,624 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,677,000 after purchasing an additional 44,303 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. now owns 13,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,471,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $61.47 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $58.19 and its 200 day moving average is $61.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.08 and a 52 week high of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $103.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

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

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.