State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 601,409 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,058 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $97.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.02 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.36.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.