Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 7,589 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,589 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $50.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,995,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,154,169. The company has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.68. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $50.47.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.