Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 71,026 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,585 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,026 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in Altria Group by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 27,192 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 11,398 shares of the company's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 220,511 shares of the company's stock worth $8,895,000 after acquiring an additional 40,075 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 249,032 shares of the company's stock worth $10,046,000 after acquiring an additional 112,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.30 on Tuesday, reaching $42.87. 18,916,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,947,066. The stock has a market cap of $73.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.14%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

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.