Private Wealth Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Private Wealth Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,371 shares of the company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $65.41 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.32. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.