Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $4.75 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,864 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,258 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 451,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,060,000 after purchasing an additional 19,673 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $204,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Altria Group by 9.8% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 79,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,040,000 after acquiring an additional 7,088 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,394,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.02 on Monday, reaching $57.62. 11,946,626 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,547,457. The firm has a market cap of $97.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $54.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued 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%.

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.