New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 2,600 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.