New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $4.62 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,995 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 293.6% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.55. 12,238,540 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,876,758. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The firm has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.