State of Alaska Department of Revenue Decreases Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,675 shares during the quarter. 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 & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4,665.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,972,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,241,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,907 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $525,810,000. United Services Automobile Association grew its holdings in Altria Group by 103.9% in the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,742,000 after acquiring an additional 919,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,567,000 after acquiring an additional 915,478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $45.93 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.