New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 23,831 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,787,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,831 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Altria Group worth $91,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $50.25. 1,038,747 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,779,654. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.23.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.12%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.20.

Altria Group 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.