Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,061 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $58.09 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.