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

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 180,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,439 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 77,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,062,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Cascades Capital Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 696,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,403,000 after acquiring an additional 194,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 3.2 %

MO stock opened at $56.05 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.82.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.