State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 459,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,968 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $24,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $56.35 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.72 and a fifty-two week high of $58.59. The company has a market cap of $95.28 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Altria Group Profile

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.