Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,472,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,872,679. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The firm has a market cap of $73.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.44.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.13%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.