Private Wealth Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of 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. The stock has a market cap 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.86 and a twelve month 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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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