Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 655,007 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,245 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $39,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skyline Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MO opened at $58.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.84. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Company 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.