Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 762 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $54.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $92.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.69 and its 200-day moving average is $52.83.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.