NorthRock Partners LLC Sells 7,007 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

NorthRock Partners LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,007 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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 equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $66.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.24. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.86 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s 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 research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.