State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $14.35 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 328,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.