Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $2.96 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 30.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,332 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,494 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.60. 23,252,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,583,963. The company has a market capitalization of $100.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.17 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $59.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.17.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

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.