North Star Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 36,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,649,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $346,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,752,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $67.66 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $77.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 315.29% and a net margin of 33.99%.The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $1.11 dividend. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.45%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.