New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 66,767 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,720,672 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,767 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of Altria Group worth $89,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.5 %

MO traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $53.37. The company had a trading volume of 4,563,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,840,942. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $90.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.