Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 11,061 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,061 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,678,000 after purchasing an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,310,000 after purchasing an additional 197,945 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MO opened at $58.09 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.45. The firm has a market cap of $98.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.