Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 45.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,108,171 shares of the company's stock after selling 913,950 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Altria Group worth $66,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $137,536,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,813 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Altria Group by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock worth $466,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,421 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.71.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.62. 4,776,064 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,581,112. The company has a market cap of $100.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.87 and a 1 year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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 Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company 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.