Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $4.91 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delta Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $49.71 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.06. The company has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.21%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 70.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.