Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,576 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $92,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MO opened at $64.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $107.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.37. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

About Altria Group

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.