Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Sells 1,339 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,339 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $264,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $64.40 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.98 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $108.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.87 and its 200 day moving average is $61.52.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.