Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Acquires 15,300 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 588.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Altria Group by 64.4% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.08 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.84.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 80.92%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.