Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Increased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 34.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 276,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,026 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 293.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $42.94. The company had a trading volume of 5,167,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,765,296. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $48.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.13%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.78%.

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.