Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 540,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $23,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $46.05 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.26 and its 200 day moving average is $42.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.51%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Altria Group

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.