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

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 136.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,022,121 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,166,701 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.12% of Altria Group worth $105,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 781.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 20,142 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 66,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,948 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,523,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6 %

MO opened at $57.97 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.42. The company has a market cap of $98.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.