Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 364,442 shares of the company’s stock after selling 648 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after buying an additional 242,442 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 120.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Altria Group by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,870,000 after buying an additional 617,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,567,000 after buying an additional 915,478 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,347,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,989,302. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.01. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.21. The stock has a market cap of $80.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.33%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

About Altria Group

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.