Arizona State Retirement System Sells 17,367 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its Altria stake by 3.5%, selling 17,367 shares and now holds 474,626 shares valued at roughly $27.37 million.
• Altria declared a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share (ex-dividend March 25, payable April 30), implying a $4.24 annualized payout and a yield of about 6.3% with a payout ratio above 100%.
• Analysts are mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with a consensus price target of $65.88, even as several firms recently raised or lowered individual targets between $57 and $74.

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 474,626 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,367 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Altria Group were worth $27,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gould Capital LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $39,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.88.

Altria Group Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $67.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $70.51. The company has a market capitalization of $112.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc NYSE: MO is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company's operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria's principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.

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